What It Should Have Been
by GeneralQuistis-Zhakeena
Summary: The story of Cloud and Tifa, Sephiroth and his past, and more events from the past and the game and the future told from a different perspective. Care to take a look? You're gonna love it.
1. The Childhood of Cloud and Tifa

**What It Should Have Been…**

Written by: GQ and Zhak

Warnings: Slightly AU, if your mind is closed on certain possibilities, and OOC. (smirk)

Note of Zhak: I love the concept of this fic. If you think that Cloud and Tifa in one story means instant romance, well think again, buddy. MUAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH! (and Zhak chokes on a pretzel).

Disclaimer: We're not Tifa haters and Cloud haters. But we are Cloti haters… at least the closed-minded ones and the unreasonably war-freak ones; not necessarily all Clotis, we hope. And Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square. This is just a fic. Suing us for violation of copyright laws and libel will just be a waste of time and money in your part.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Childhood of Cloud and Tifa

oOoOo

Cloud Strife, 6 years old. Little blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy. Lives in Nibelheim with mother. No father. No siblings. And not much friends. In other words, quite the lonely boy, this Cloud Strife.

He sighed as he stared outside his bedroom window. There were a bunch of kids running around and playing tag.

"Tag! You're it!" said Ugly Boy #1 as he victoriously wiped a little girl's arm with one snotty hand.

"Hah hah, Teefa is a slow-poke!" said Ugly Boy #2.

The girl in blue, aka Cute-little-girl-next-door, called 'Teefa,' huffed. "You--you cheated!" she whined, her face turning red. She rubbed the spot that Ugly Boy #1 touched on her arm with disgust.

"Nope! Ya gotta chase us or else you'll be 'it' foreveeeer!" said Ugly Boy #3. And so 'Teefa' took a deep breath before running after the Ugly Boys.

Cloud watched all of these with a depressed air. "Wish I could play Tag wit' Teefa," he mumbled.

"Why don't you go down and play with them then, Cloud?"

The little boy turned around swiftly and saw that his Mother had somehow sneaked up on him. He looked up earnestly at her. "Cuz Teefa is pretty."

"So what if Tifa is pretty? I thought you played with her before," asked Mrs. Strife.

Cloud pouted. "I'm not pretty. I don't got long black hair… and those other kids don't like me very much cuz I got weird yellow hair, I gots a 'Midgarian' accent while they gots Nubl—nibble—nnibleheiman accents, an' cuz I'm so short. I'm not s'poseta play wit' em. They might get mad," he explained, hugging his skinned knees.

Mrs. Strife sighed as she patted Cloud's back. "Well… you aren't going to make many friends that way, Cloud. Try not to be so negative and try playing with them one more time," she said reassuringly, eyeing her son with a positive glint in her eye.

Cloud shook his head. "Nuh-uh. They won't like me… The guys might try to bite me…" he replied glumly.

"Yes they will!" Mrs. Strife got his arm and dragged him upward to make him stand up, then lifted him off the bed and on the floor. "And don't look so scared! Tell you what…" she smoothed the creased sleeve of his T-shirt, "I'll come with you outside and introduce you to them!"

The little boy looked up to her mother in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes," Mrs. Strife smiled. "Just so you won't be so scared."

_Hmm. If Mommy's there, then those guys and Teefa won't beat me up! _He thought a bit brightly before smiling up at her mother. "Okay, mommy!" he said as he nodded.

"That's my Cloudy! Let's go!" she said, taking her son's hand in hers and walking downstairs and out the house to meet Cloud's new playmates.

oOoOo

The three ugly boys and Tifa blinked up at their new neighbor, Mrs. Strife, and that weird kid from Midgar… what was his name again? Goudy? Rowdy? Randy? Larry? Curly Joe? Moe? Or Buffy…?

"Children? I'd like you to meet my son, Cloud. Say hello, Cloud!" she said, turning to her son, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Hey," greeted Cloud weakly.

"H'lo/ Heya… / Yo/ Hi!" replied the kids, giving Cloud weak smiles.

"You know, Cloud's been watching you guys play, and he wants to join you," said the mother.

The kids fell silent.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Tifa spoke up brightly. "Oh, okay, he can come play wit' us!"

The three boys turned to Tifa with shocked looks on their faces. Cloud blinked in surprise. "… really?"

"Oh! How wonderful!" Mrs. Strife clapped both hands together. "So, Cloud, I'll just go back home to prepare dinner… you kids play nice, all right?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" said the kids cheerfully before Mrs. Strife waved them good-bye.

As soon as she was out of sight, the boys glared at Tifa. "Teefa! Why'd you invite this Midgar bloke to play wit' us?" they demanded.

Tifa raised her nose at them quite haughtily. "Cuz you guys were boring me!" she said. "And besides, Clod here looks like an interesting person, right?" she said, turning to Cloud.

Cloud blushed. "M—my name's Cloud," he corrected nervously.

"Eh… whatever," said Tifa, pushing him off. "Well, we were playing tag earlier before _you _came along, so according to the rules… you're IT!" she said triumphantly, pointing a finger at his nose.

The other boys "ooh"-ed as Cloud looked at Tifa in a dumbfounded manner. "I get it now! You only let him play cuz you didn't want to be It anymore, eh, Teefa?" asked Ugly Boy #2.

"What made you think that?" asked Tifa innocently. "Anyways, Clod—"

"… Cloud?"

"Don't intrupt me, Clod! Anyways, since you're a new player and you're It… you gotta walk a bit farther from us before you can start chasin' us!" explained Tifa with a naughty smile on her face.

"A-are those part of the rules?" asked Cloud sheepishly.

"Yep!" replied Tifa, as one of the ugly boys mumbled, "Yeah, right," and snickered.

The blonde, spiky-haired boy blinked nervously and took 5 big steps backwards. "Is this far enough?"

The kids shook their heads. "A little more," said Tifa, waving one hand away as if to shoo Cloud away. And so he took 3 extra steps backwards. "Is this okay?"

"Nope, a li'l more."

"How 'bout now?"

"Nope, a li'l more."

This went on for a while. Pretty soon, the kids were just 4 little dots in Cloud's vision. "HOW ABOUT NOW?" he yelled.

No answer. But he did hear a lot of giggles and clomping feet.

"I guess the game's startin'…" thought Cloud as he took a deep breath and started running as fast as he could…

"Hey, Teefa! Clod's pretty fast!" yelled one of the ugly boys as little Cloud instantly appeared out of nowhere and already hot on their heels.

"Just—keep—running!" yelled Tifa as she turned to a corner and disappeared.

Cloud just silently ran after the three boys; he didn't want Teefa to be It, because apparently Teefa didn't like being It, and if Teefa became It because of Cloud, well… she probably wouldn't like him anymore. "YAAAH!" yelled the Three Ugly Boys as they realized that Cloud was only a few metres away from them… and he was gaining… gaining…

"Head for my house, chaps!" yelled Ugly Boy #1. The three of them turned to one of the nearer houses. Just before Cloud could touch the end of one of the boys' shirt, Ugly Boy#1 managed to open the door, and the three of them rushed inside and slammed the door, locking Cloud out in the process.

He didn't brake in time and ended up colliding with the door and falling on the ground. The three boys laughed victoriously. Cloud looked up at the door in confusion and scratched his head. "Hey, guys, is this allowed?" he asked.

"Eh…? Oh, sure it is! Any stupid person knows that you can hide in Tag!" answered one of them.

"B-but… I thought that was Hide-and-Seek!"

"Well, you thought wrong, Clod m'lad," replied another.

"And if you don't tag anybody else, you'll be It foreveeeer!" More giggling ensued.

Cloud sniffed. "Awright," he said defeatedly, turning around and jogging quite a distance away. _I guess I gots no choice but to look for Teefa and… _

"TEEFA! TEEFA! RUN BEFORE CLOD GETS YOO!"

Cloud, wide-eyed, turned back. It turns out that Tifa was hiding in one of the nearby bushes near the house, and was now running as fast as she could towards the door…

Cloud, sweating and panting, bolted towards Tifa. Tifa screeched when she saw Cloud and fumbled with the doorknob, trying desperately to open the door…

Too bad Tifa's kind of slow. When she finally opened it, though, Cloud had already reached her and brushed a hand against her bare shoulder. "T… TAG!" yelled the spiky-haired boy victoriously.

Everybody froze. The Ugly Boys gaped at Cloud in disbelief. Cloud looked worriedly at his playmates at the sudden silence…

And Tifa bit her lower lip and sniffed as tears welled up in her eyes.

Before anybody knew it, Tifa started bawling. "WAAAAAAAAH!"

"Oh no…!" The Ugly Boys huddled around Tifa and attempted to comfort her. Cloud's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Now look what you did, Clod!" yelled Ugly Boy #1. "You made Teefa cry!"

"B-but… I only—"

"AAAH! I never wanna play with you again, Clod!" she cried, bolting in the house and sobbing along the way.

"B-but…"

The Ugly Boys shook their heads in unison. "Forget it, Clod. She doesn't like you anymore. I guess ya gotta go home," said Ugly Boy #3 solemnly.

Cloud's lower lip quivered. The Ugly Boys went in the house and closed the door behind them. After a few minutes of standing there in disbelief, he sighed and decided to go home…

But suddenly, somebody yelled, "Clod, come back!"

He turned around and saw Tifa and the Ugly Boys running towards him. "T… Teefa?" he asked curiously.

She panted when she reached him. "Where are you going?" she asked.  
"…home?" he answered uneasily.

"Don't be silly! We aren't done playing yet!" Tifa said, suddenly cheerful. What happened to the crying?

But Cloud forgot about the tears as easily as the four other kids did. "R… really?"

"O' course, chap," said Ugly Boy #2, patting his shoulder. "If there's one thing you know about Teefa, is that she's a big crybaby," he added.

"Gee…" Cloud said, confused but kind of glad at the same time.

"Well? What are you chaps standing around like doofuses there? Let's go to the sandbox and build sand stuff!" Ugly Boy #3 said cheerfully, running to the backyard.

Ugly Boy #1 and #2 ran after him, leaving Tifa and Cloud behind. He took a deep breath and turned to Tifa. "I'm sorry for makin' you cry earlier, Teefa…" he said sheepishly.

"Oh, it's okay, Clod! No hard feelings!" Tifa said cheerfully. "Now c'mon, let's go play!"

Cloud wasn't sure what happened, but he ended up buried in the sand, with only his head poking from the ground while Tifa and the Ugly Boys were eating pizzas right in front of him.

"H-hey, you guys! Let me out of here!" cried Cloud in desperation.

"Not until we finish the pizza!"

It sure is tough being different.

That evening, while having dinner, Mister Lockheart and Tifa heard someone knocking on the front door of their house. "Who could that be?" he mumbled as he got up from his seat and went to the door to open it. He was surprised to see Mrs. Strife. "Oh. Good evening." He greeted dully. Of course he knows who Mrs. Strife is; she's the mother of that bastard kid Cloud Strife who made his daughter cry… at least that's what Tifa had told him when she arrived home that afternoon crying.

Mrs. Strife looked cross. "I would like to have a word with you about your daughter, Mister Lockheart." She said sternly with her arms crossed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It was 6 in the evening already moments ago and my son still hasn't come home. And so as a good mother, it's instinctive of me to go around and look for him. Guess where I found him?" she sneered.

Mister Lockheart was just quiet.

"My son was buried in the sandbox! He said he's been there ever since this early afternoon!" she shouted impatiently.

Tifa bit her lower lip to stop herself from laughing and she bowed down her head so that her long hair covered her face from the vision of Mrs. Strife.

Mister Lockheart was still quiet so Mrs. Strife just continued with an exasperated look on her face. "He said that _your_ daughter and her little friends told him that if he gets up from the sandbox by himself, they're gonna throw him inside the well!" she snapped.

"That is the most unbelievable story I have ever heard of!" Mister Lockheart told her with a deep frown on his face.

"Are you telling me that my son is a liar!" she snapped.

"My sweet darling little Tifa wouldn't say such mean things to your son! Why, she's the nicest girl in town!" replied Mr. Lockheart, his voice getting louder unintentionally.

"Dear? What's going on out there?" a soft voice asked from behind Mr. Lockheart.

Mr. Lockheart blinked and turned around, revealing a small, brown-haired woman. He looked worriedly at her. "You shouldn't have gotten up, dear," he told her in a gentle reprimanding tone.

Mrs. Strife felt rather awkward as a sickly-looking Mrs. Lockheart looked at her in curiosity. "Oh, but I overheard your conversation—is it true that our Tifa is causing trouble?" she asked softly.

From the dinner table, Tifa bit her lower lip again and sunk in her chair.

"Well—…" Mrs. Strife began, but Mr. Lockheart cut her off, "It's just a misunderstanding, dear… now, get back inside before you catch a cold…" he said, leading her back in the house. Mrs. Strife closed her mouth and frowned again. "Mr. Lockheart—…" she called out.

"We shall discuss this tomorrow, Mrs. Strife. Good night," he said with a forced polite tone, but a hint of annoyance is evident in his voice. And with that, he closed the door.

Mrs. Strife frowned. "Well, I never…!" she said, scowling. She turned around and made her way back to her own home. But once she got to her doorway, she can't help but sigh. "I wonder if this town is good for Cloud…" she thought to herself before opening the door and entered with a sad smile on her face.

Cloud was seated on the stairs and staring curiously at his mother. "Mommy," he began.

Mrs. Strife blinked as she turned to him. "Oh. Hello Cloud. Did you clean yourself up already?" she asked.

Cloud nodded. "I took a bath." He told her.

"Good. Let's have dinner." She told him as she led the way to the kitchen. Cloud just nodded his head but kept his gaze on the floor as he followed his mother to the kitchen. Cloud sat down on his chair while waiting for his mother to finish preparing their dinner. Life sure was hard ever since they moved to Nibelheim, compared to their former life in Midgar. But Mrs. Strife felt that city life is unhealthy for a growing boy like Cloud, so she just decided to move. Besides, she had to run away from something in the city…

"What do you plan to do tomorrow, Cloud?" she asked as she placed a small bowl of porridge in front of her son.

Cloud glumly took his spoon and started stirring his hot porridge mindlessly. "Nothing really, Mommy," he answered as he took a spoonful of porridge and placed it in his mouth. He felt the food burn his tongue like acid, but he didn't feel like reacting to the pain anymore…

Mrs. Strife blinked curiously and stared down at her own bowl. "Cloud, isn't the porridge too hot for you? You could burn your tongue…" she said worriedly, then added, "Tell you what, let's let it cool off first while I make some hard-boiled eggs to go with our porridge—"

"It's okay, Mom," replied Cloud as he swallowed another hot portion of his food. He felt his taste buds practically screaming in pain, but he didn't care. _Just keep eating Cloud. Don't care if it's hot. At least you won't have to talk. _

Mrs. Strife sighed and ate her food silently.

oOoOo

5 Weeks Later…

Cloud snorted as Mrs. Strife fixed his black tie. "Hold still, Cloud!"

"I'm choking," the boy replied irritably, fidgeting restlessly. Finally, Mrs Strife finished knotting his neck tie and stood up straight, rubbing the creases on his black blazer as she did so. "There! All we have to do is to fix your hair before we visit the Lockhearts," she said as she turned to the bathroom to get a comb.

The Strifes were fixing themselves up to visit the funeral of Mrs. Lockheart, who just passed away a couple of days before. Even though the widower was against inviting the two of them, he still did for the sake of manners. Besides, Mrs. Lockheart was the only person in town who ever treated the Strifes politely…

Cloud eyed his mother curiously as she walked past him. "Mommy…" he paused and hesitated before continuing, "What are funerals for?"

Mrs. Strife paused from looking for a comb and pondered on her answer. "Well… they're for the dead. It's a way of making the dead know that they were loved and that they will be missed..."

Cloud blinked. "How will the dead know? They're dead."

"Mmm… not exactly," she answered, finally finding a comb and walking towards Cloud. "When people die, their souls go to the Lifestream."

"What's the Lifestream?" the boy asked as he let his mother fuss with his spikes.

"It's a place with the Planet. Normal people can't exactly see it…"

"Why not? Is it like Heaven?"

"Hmm… maybe."

Cloud fell silent and just listened to the sounds of the comb running through his sticky blonde hair. When people die, their souls go to the Lifestream… so that means… _Well, nobody on the Planet exactly liked him, except for his mother. Maybe if…_

"There! All done," said Mrs. Strife, patting her son. She stood up and walked towards a full-length mirror and made finishing touches on herself. "Ready to go, Cloud? We don't want to be late."

He nodded and walked towards his mother. She took his hand and they started walking out of the room. As they walked down the stairs, Cloud spoke up again. "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to go to the Lifestream."

"Oh? Why?"

"To meet someone who will like me for a change," he replied. His mother looked at him curiously, but he didn't elaborate anymore.

oOoOo

"Dump him in the sandbox!" was the last sound Cloud heard from one of the boy bullies before he heard himself say "OOMPH!" and tasted and inhaled sand.

"Hahahahaha! What a loser!" the bullies were laughing heartily before rushing away from the "crime" scene, leaving poor Cloud just remained still for a moment before he slowly got up, coughed off some sand and started blowing his nose. "Ow…" he muttered, tears falling from his eyes. "I hate sand…" he was thinking before he ran off from the sandbox, dusting himself and wanting to go home. As he rounded a corner just near the inn, he noticed a woman with black hair with a little boy around Cloud's age. Cloud wiped his tears away and sniffed, envying the mother and the son that he had just seen coming down from the white limousine.

"Welcome to Nibelheim, Mrs. ShinRa." A person who just came out from the inn approached the mother and the son.

Cloud sniffed. "I wish mommy and I are as rich as those two… maybe then people will start treating us nicely…" he whispered softly.

"Rufus, come now. Let's go inside." Mrs. ShinRa called upon her son.

Cloud turned his attention to the little boy, noticing how they have the same features. "He has blonde hair and blue eyes just like me…" he thought to himself.

Rufus, whom Cloud had been staring at for a long while already, sensed that someone was looking at him. He instantly turned his direction to the area where Cloud was standing. Cloud instantly looked away and just leaned against the wall of an alley where he was standing.

Rufus just blinked and stared curiously at Cloud. "Mama, can I play?" he asked his mother.

"Oh… later, Rufus. We have to meet your father inside first." Mrs. ShinRa said.

"But Mama, I want to play with that boy!" Rufus whined.

Mrs. ShinRa followed Rufus's gaze and saw Cloud standing in one corner. Her mouth slightly dropped open when she saw the boy. Cloud was unaware that the First Lady of ShinRa was staring at him because he still had his gaze on the floor.

Mrs. ShinRa just stiffened her facial expression and cleared her throat, taking Rufus by the hand in a firm grip. "Let's go, Rufus. Your father is waiting." She said sternly before dragging Rufus inside the inn. Rufus just kept quiet and followed after his mother.

Cloud just remained standing and watched Rufus and Mrs. ShinRa enter the inn. Sighing heavily, he just walked away from the inn, but then he saw Tifa rush past him. He froze and turned to look at her. "Looks like she's in a hurry…" he thought. "Teefah! Where are you going?" he called out.

She just ignored him and kept on running. Cloud rushed after her. "Where are you going?" he called out stubbornly. "Maybe she wants to play tag with me! Hee!" Cloud thought happily but rather irrationally.

"Leave me alone! I'm going to the mountains to see my mother!" she told him angrily as she stopped running and faced him. She waited until he stopped running too and was already face-to-face with her. He was trying to catch his breath. He had to admit; Tifa is fast.

"Tifa, it's dangerous to go to the mountains alone!" he told her.

"No it's not!" she snapped.

"But there are monsters there!" he said.

"Oh yeah? Says who?" she challenged with a sneer.

"My mommy!" he replied.

"Yeah. Whatever. You and your mother do not know anything anyway! Now stay out of my way!" she pushed him away from herself and continued to run off again.

Cloud fell backwards when she pushed him, and it hurt his back so much. "…what if she gets into trouble? I can't let that happen! I don't want anybody in trouble!" he thought before struggling to get up and then ran after Tifa again. "Tifa! Stop!" he called out. But he was already beginning to get tired… and then he just tripped and sprained his ankle. "OW!" he cried out in pain.

Tifa did not even stop to look back at him. She just went on towards the mountains.

He sniffed and tried to stand up, and just hobbled his way home, frustrated at his life. "Did I do something bad?" he was thinking miserably.

oOoOo

Mrs. Strife just kept on kneading the dough that she had made for bread so that she and Cloud would have something to eat for dinner. Her face had a stern facial expression on it and she was rather frantic. She was also frowning and her heart was racing. "I never thought I'd find you here," she heard him say.

She just clenched her fists. President ShinRa.

"Is this the reason why you're here in Nibelheim?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Well… aside from attending a conference here, yes. Where's… my boy?" he asked.

"What boy?" she asked.

"My son." He told her.

"He has a name." she snapped.

"What did you name him again?" he asked.

"Cloud." She muttered miserably. "How shameful. The President doesn't even know the name of his own son! Or maybe it's too much for you to remember it because you have a lot of sons too?" she snapped.

He just shrugged. "Well… one thing's for sure, I know who _Rufus_ is. Heheh." He said sarcastically.

She got the rolling pin and threw it towards his direction. "You step out of my house you fat bastard!" she screamed.

"You shouldn't throw that word around casually; we all know who the real bastard is…" he told her, raising his eyebrow in the process.

She just swallowed hard, trying to stop herself from breaking down. "My Cloud wouldn't be a bastard child if it weren't for you…" she sneered.

The door suddenly opened and there was Cloud with a sprained ankle and crying helplessly. "Mommy!" he cried helplessly.

"Oh Cloud!" Mrs. Strife rushed to the aid of her son. "What happened to you?" she asked.

President ShinRa stared horridly at the boy. "What the hell! He looks just like Rufus… except that this boy has spikes on his hair…" he thought to himself.

Mrs. Strife just ignored President ShinRa and carried Cloud over to the sofa. While she was attending to her son, the President just shook his head in dismay and then just walked out, deciding to go back to his inn.

x x x

_Some hours later_…

Cloud had stopped crying and just sat still on his chair by the dinner table, waiting for his mother to finish preparing the soup. He still looked troubled and dazed at the same time, and he wasn't even talking.

Just when Mrs. Strife was about to put some soup on Cloud's bowl, they heard someone knocking on their door. "Who could that be?" she asked out loud before putting out the fire from the stove and then rushed to the door to open it. She was surprised to see Mr. Lockheart looking so stern and angry. "M…Mister Lockheart?" she stammered, surprised at his sudden visit.

"Strife," he said, restraining himself from shouting. "Where's the boy?" He peered over her shoulder and spotted Cloud at the dinner table. "You!" he pointed a finger at him and pushed Mrs. Strife out of the way.

Cloud's eyes widened in terror as he watched Mr. Lockheart storm towards him and twist his ear painfully. "Ow!" he cried.

"Mr. Lockheart!" said Mrs. Strife in shock. "The nerve of you, just storming in this place and pointing fingers and—"

"This delinquent," he cut off, dragging Cloud off his seat by the ear, "pushed my daughter off a bridge in the mountains!"

"I DID NOT! OW!" cried Cloud helplessly as he tried pulling Mr. Lockheart's hands from his poor ear. He felt as though his ear will twist off from his head at any second…

"Cloud would do no such thing!" Mrs. Strife said, her face turning redder as she attempted to pry his hands off her son. "Stop accusing him of such things!"

"My Tifa told me that when she went to the mountains to see her mother, this brat followed her and pushed her off the bridge!"

"Cloud couldn't have done that! He sprained his ankle! And you're hurting him more!" She finally succeeded in removing Mr. Lockheart's hands off of her son. She pulled Cloud closer to her and carried him. "You shouldn't believe everything your daughter says about my son!"

"Mrs. Strife, my daughter couldn't lie. Her mother just died!" he shouted.

"Cloud's got a sprained ankle, Mr. Lockheart. If you could explain how he could have done it when he could barely stand up…!" she shouted back.

Mr. Lockheart scowled. "Fine." He turned to Cloud. "Boy, tell us how you got that sprain there."

Cloud sniffed. "I was chasin' Teefa when she was runnin' to the mountain, and—"

"Soooo! You admit that you were chasing Tifa at the mountains! See, Mrs. Strife, your son admitted it himself!"

"No, sir! What happened was—"

"No! I'm not hearing it!"

"Mr. Lockheart! You are being unreasonable! How can you justify that Cloud is the reason that your daughter is injured right now? Do you have any witnesses?" Mrs. Strife growled.

"The whole neighborhood saw it…" Mr. Lockheart sneered.

Cloud gave a small gasp. "B-but…" he squeaked.

"What? What are you talking about?" his mother snapped.

"The _whole neighborhood _saw it, Mrs. Strife. You could ask them for yourself," said Mr. Lockheart angrily. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down a bit more before speaking again. "Hmph. Typical… the dire mother defending her bastard son… how fitting," he muttered before leaving the house in a huff.

The front door slammed. The whole house was silent, save for Mr. Lockheart's fading footsteps outside. Mrs. Strife was frozen on the spot. _How dare he! That… that… _

Cloud looked down sadly and let himself down from his mother's arms. He hobbled towards his chair and sat down silently.

Silence.

"Mommy?"

Mrs. Strife didn't reply. She just turned to him and tried her hardest not to break down.

"What's a…" Cloud paused, but the look on his mother's face urged him to continue. "What's a… bastard?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "A… what!"

Cloud looked down and swallowed. "I… the people in town sometimes call me that when I pass by them…"

"They call you that?"

"Well… they call me that when they think I can't hear them," he replied softly, not looking her in the eye.

Mrs. Strife breathed deeply and sat down silently. "I… Cloud, just finish your food for now…" she replied sadly, taking her fork and not looking at him.

Cloud didn't look up and started prodding his food with a fork. "Mommy? Am I a… bastard?"

"No, honey, you're not. The people who called you that are liars… as all the people in this town are. Don't believe anything they say," she answered softly.

"Okay." He just muttered softly after a few moments of silence, but he was still unconvinced.


	2. The Adolescent Years

**What It Should Have Been**

Written by: GQ and Zhak

Warnings: Slight AU and slight OOC. If you are Cloti or somebody else who isn't open to certain possibilities in the story, then this ain't the fic for you, buddy!

Disclaimer: Authors of this story do not own Final Fantasy 7. We own this fic, though.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Adolescent Years

oOoOo

_Ever-dearest Tifa, _

_You are the reason for many things in my life. From childhood, you had a particular relationship with me that will be embedded in my mind, heart and spirit forever. And now that we're teens, I can't help but look back on the past and reflect…_

_As you may have heard, I am leaving Nibelheim soon—to be more exact, I'm leaving in a couple of days for SOLDIER. People say that I'm too young for the military, but I know that I could do it. I bet you I can even make it to First Class. Anyway, I thought of writing this letter to you so that before I leave, you'll know that I thought of you._

_But I can't say goodbye without saying what my heart wants to say to you for the longest time now… _

_So… here goes… _

_Tifa… _

_I truly hate you. I hope you die. What did you expect, for all the things that you've done to me? Hah, don't be stupid. _

_Well, that's over with. I'm leaving this stupid town! I'm going to Midgar! I'm gonna be a bad-ass SOLDIER! And I'm gonna make a lot of money! We may not see each other ever again after I leave, but I don't care! In fact, I'll make sure that we'll never see each other again; obviously, it will do the both of us some good… _

_And so I say to you, my "CHILDHOOD FRIEND," good bye and good riddance! _

_Love, Cloud. _

_PS. Oh yeah, just 'cause you got big boobs doesn't mean you're pretty. So don't think so highly of yourself. I bet that if I dressed up as a girl, I'd be prettier and sexier than YOU. _

Cloud chuckled sinisterly to himself as he re-read his so-called 'love letter' to Tifa. "Finally… I get a chance!" he said to himself victoriously.

But really, this letter is the only chance he has of letting out his grudge against Tifa. He certainly has no way with words, and he certainly can't challenge her to a _mano a mano _fight, since boys just don't beat up girls (even if the girl was trained to kick-box). He breathed in deeply. He pondered for a moment if this was the right way to go about it, or if what he's about to do is right at all, but he shook off all doubt almost immediately. He had to do it before he left for Midgar. He just had to!

He sprinted downstairs and zoomed past his mother, who barely caught a glimpse of him in confusion. "Cloud, where are you going? It's dark out already," she asked.

"Just going to the well. I'll be back in less than an hour," he replied before sprinting out of the house.

oOoOo

"I wonder why Cloud invited me over here at this hour?" Tifa thought silently to herself as she sat still on the well. She was beginning to feel sleepy. Cloud told her to meet him there by 10:30 in the evening. "That boy had some guts after all the nasty things I've done to him all these years. I wonder what he's going to do…" she thought before she got up and removed the lid of the well and stared inside into its darkness. "I'm getting thirsty…" she muttered before searching for the pail, but was interrupted when she heard someone else climbing on the well's platform. She looked up and saw Cloud Strife with a serious look on his face and clutching a folded paper in his right hand. She blinked. "…You're late." She told him sternly.

"I'm sorry… but… I'm happy that you actually came." He told her calmly with a slight smile on his face.

She shuddered. "He's smiling at me… I wonder why." She thought to herself, sensing that there must be something wrong. She just shrugged. "Well… I keep my word. When I say I'm coming, I'm coming." She just said simply, acting casual as he walked over to her side. She just slapped his back. "So, what's happening? How come you asked me to come here?" she asked with a cheerful look on her face. But she slapped him way too hard that he almost fell forward and lost his balance… and he had to hold onto the well so that he wouldn't fall inside… but he accidentally let go of the letter and it fell inside. Cloud gasped and just stared into empty space for a while.

"I asked you a question, Cloud," she told him as she took a seat at the edge of the well.

"I… I just want to say goodbye… I'm going to join SOLDIER…" he stammered.

"Oh… really?" Tifa said, her tone changing. That scrawny twerp, going to SOLDIER? Tifa doubted that Cloud will even make it as a third class SOLDIER's shoeshine boy. She wanted to laugh out loud and make a snide remark at the boy, but she restrained herself and gave a small smile instead. "When are you leaving?" she asked.

"In a couple of days," he replied. He still glanced at the 'crevasse' where his letter had fallen into.

"Cool," said Tifa, a plan formulating in her brain. _Hmm… he's going to Midgar… I doubt that he'll make it into SOLDIER, but just in case…_ "Hey, Cloud…"

"… yes?" he asked warily.

Tifa gave a small frown and patted the space beside her. "Don't just stand there, silly. Come sit next to me."

Cloud stood still and shook his head. "OH, no, I'm fine standing here. What is it you wanted to tell me?" he said awkwardly.

She shrugged and stared at the stars. "Promise me something, Cloud."

"Huh?"

"You won't forget me when you go to SOLDIER, right? You'll come when I'm in trouble, won't you?" she asked in the best dreamy tone that she could manage.

She could see in her peripheral vision that Cloud frowned slightly as she spoke. Her face fell and she gave a look at Cloud. "You will, won't you?"

Cloud's left eye twitched.

_What's wrong with this guy? I think he's going insane again. _"Promise me, Cloud," said Tifa with a sterner tone.

A moment of silence. Cloud's face relaxed, but he was still frowning as he looked away. Tifa was starting to wonder what was going on with him. Finally, Cloud spoke. "W-ell, Tifa, I can't just _promise _you that thing, you know?"

_He… talked back? _"What?" Tifa asked in irritation.

Cloud rolled his eyes as he spoke. "Tifa, Tifa, Tifa… you must be _crazy _if you _think _that I'll make a stupid promise like THAT!"

Her mouth dropped open as he continued talking, "Surprise, surprise, _Teefa! _I'm not very fond of you! In fact, I hate you! Bah-hahahah!" and laughed heartily.

Tifa felt dumbfounded.

"So you think you're the only good one in acting, huh, _Teefah_? Huh? Bahahahahahahahaha! Well you're not!" Cloud teased happily. Finally he's getting his revenge. And he loves the feeling of it, especially seeing the dumbfounded look on Tifa's face. "You know, Tifa," he calmed down and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "someday, you'll realize what a big mistake you have done… you know, making my life miserable? I mean, we could've been so perfect for each other. But then again… what is your zodiac sign?" he asked with a serious look on his face.

"…T…Taurus…" she stated with a tone that seemed to falter. She suddenly didn't know what to do.

"Taurus, eh? Well… I'm a Leo. And according to astrology, we are not compatible. You're an earth sign; I'm fire. It's either I burn you or you cover my flame with your dirt!" he told her.

"_Cover with dirt…_" it echoed in her brain. And she wasn't sure if she acted with instinct, but she instantly pushed him away from her… into the well. And the next thing she heard was Cloud screaming from inside the well, "YOU NASTY! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Tifa was huffing and puffing. So much for suppressing anger.

And she smiled sweetly. "No." she said sweetly. "Oh yeah, you can get your _love letter_ from inside while you're there! Heehee! And you can burn it too once you manage to get out of there!" she told him happily.

"I can't burn it, it's already soggy to begin with! Are you stupid!" Cloud cried out from inside with an angry tone.

She twitched. "Stupid eh?" she called out as her nostrils flared. She instantly got the lid of the well and covered it, ignoring Cloud's screams, "NO! DON'T COVER IT! NOOOOOO! TIFA! YOU'LL PAY ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Whew." She wiped her sweat off her brow. "That was a heavy lid…" she muttered before skipping merrily away from the well so that she could go home.


	3. Cloud's New Friends

**What It Should Have Been**

Written by: GQ and Zhak

Warnings: Slight AU and slight OOC. If you are Cloti or somebody else who aren't open to certain possibilities in the story, then this ain't the fic for you, buddy!

Disclaimer: Authors of this story do not own Final Fantasy 7. We own this story, though. And if you're a PURIST and you're reading this, stay away and look for another fic. We don't wanna hear any nasty remarks and comments from you. This is very A.U. and we don't conform so much to the game here. Okay?

Chapter 3: Cloud's New Friends

oOoOo

_A year later after Cloud joined SOLDIER…_

"ATTENTION!" a First Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth, commanded the SOLDIERs.

Cloud stood stiffly.

It was his first assembly in front of the President in Midgar. It was the first time that he had seen the President in person, and he was just seated on the podium a few feet away from the assembly grounds of SOLDIER in the ShinRa HQ in Midgar.

The President was seated with his wife, the First Lady, and their son, Rufus, was standing behind him and staring straight ahead.

Cloud could easily recognize Rufus and the First Lady from childhood. He had recalled wanting to play with him too. Cloud felt a bit ashamed now that he had once wished to play with someone as rich and as important as Rufus.

The other commander, another First Class SOLDIER, Zack, passed by Cloud's line of vision because he was inspecting if everyone is staring straight ahead just like what they have instructed them to do so. Upon seeing that Cloud's gaze was drifting off, Zack uttered, "Strife," to catch his attention. Cloud recognized this warning and stared straight ahead again.

"Never knew this would be so hard… but I have to do this if I want to prove to everyone in Nibelheim that I am not a loser!" he was thinking to himself. And then he felt a nerve ready to pop out of his forehead. "…especially to that Teefah!" he thought angrily.

Moments later, after the assembly, Sephiroth called for Cloud. "Hey, Strife!"

Cloud turned to him. "Y…yes sir?" he asked.

"Come over here. I'm gonna need your assistance." Sephiroth said.

Cloud approached him.

Sephiroth motioned for him to follow him. "The President invited me and the other high-ranking First Class SOLDIERs for lunch. I want you to come with me since you're new. I figured the President would like to meet someone like you with potential." He said with a serious look on his face.

Cloud blinked. "Potential, sir?" he asked.

Zack arrived with a clipboard on his grasp. "Well, it turns out that you're one of the best newbies around here." He told him.

Cloud did not smile, but deep inside, he was rejoicing. "Well he's not really a newbie. He's been in SOLDIER for a year now, Sephiroth." Zack explained before showing Cloud the paper attached onto the clipboard. "See?" he asked. Cloud saw his name on the list… and it was on the topmost part. He was number one. "Looks like you'll advance soon to First Class if you keep up your good work." Sephiroth told him with a slight smile on his face.

Cloud just stared at his name. It was misspelled. CLOD STRIFE. He frowned. "Uhm…" he began.

"So, _Clod_, let's go?" Zack asked.

Silence.

"Uhm… It's _Cloud_, sir." Cloud corrected.

Silence.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth verified.

"Yes sir." Cloud replied with a glum look on his face.

Silence.

"Do you have a pen, Sephiroth?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth just shrugged. "I'll just correct it later." He told them before leading the way going to the main building of the ShinRa HQ.

Cloud followed after him and Zack.

"So where are you from?" Zack asked him with a friendly smile on his face.

"…Nibelheim, sir." Cloud replied.

"Hey, let's not be too formal around here, okay? We're not in training and assembly grounds! Just call me _Zack_… and you can call this other guy here _Sephiroth_. Is that fine?" Zack asked with a silly smile on his face.

"Knightblade, I don't think it's necessary…" Sephiroth muttered to Zack.

"Yes, it is. C'mon, we're all buddies, here, right? After all, I think Cloud here will be joining us soon in First Class, right?" Zack asked with an optimistic gleam in his dark blue eyes.

"Hopefully… if we convince the President. That's why we're taking him with us to the Presidential Lunch." Sephiroth told him with a serious look on his face.

Cloud was just quiet, listening to them as they continued to converse with one another.

Finally, they arrived inside the ShinRa building and went upstairs to the dining area.

Two female Turks—one blonde with short hair and another one with long light brown hair in a high ponytail, opened the door for them. Sephiroth nodded at the latter and smiled rather handsomely at her. "Hey." He greeted.

She just stood still and eyed him with a serious look on her face. "The President is waiting." She said stiffly.

Zack just nudged Sephiroth to go on walking.

Cloud took a quick glance at the two female Turks before continuing on his way inside the dining area with Sephiroth and Zack.

President ShinRa was already seated at the head of the table, with the First Lady to his right and their son to his left. The other executives were already seated but on the side of the table where the First Lady is seated. Rufus had no one beside him so Sephiroth just took the initiative to sit down beside him. Zack followed, and then Cloud.

Cloud felt embarrassed that everyone was looking curiously at him.

The First Lady frowned upon seeing him but she just kept quiet and turned away.

"This is Cloud Strife. He's the one I was telling you about, President ShinRa." Sephiroth told the President with a proud look on his face.

President ShinRa smiled at Cloud. "Strife, eh?" he asked.

The First Lady got up and took a deep breath. "Excuse me, I don't feel well. I think I'll go to my room for now." She told them before leaving.

They were all silent for a while before President ShinRa proceeded. "So tell me, _son_, where are you from?" he asked.

"Nibelheim, your Excellency." Cloud replied.

President ShinRa raised his eyebrow and nodded his head in amusement. "Interesting. You live there with--?" he asked.

Cloud replied, "My mother, sir." He told him.

President ShinRa turned to Sephiroth with a pleased smile on his face. Of course he knew the boy… but he wouldn't let anyone else find out about it. His wife knows… but she doesn't want to cause any harm to her family's reputation so she just shuts up. "You have my consent, Sephiroth. The boy can be promoted instantly to _First Class_." He told Sephiroth.

Sephiroth nodded. "Thank you, Your Excellency." He replied.

Zack nudged Cloud. "Cool! You'll be changing uniforms tomorrow! Heheh." He told him cheerfully. Cloud just sat still, wondering if he was dreaming or not. "Gee… this is unbelievable! Now everyone in Nibelheim will respect me!" he was thinking silently.

"Okay then, let's eat." President ShinRa said before he started slicing his lamb chops.

Rufus was eyeing Cloud curiously. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked.

All eyes turned to him.

"I… don't think so…" Cloud replied softly.

President ShinRa was chewing while talking, "Oh yeah, Cloud, this is my son, Rufus. He's the Vice-President… and you'll joining Zack and Sephiroth in guarding him sometime in Junon." He told him, pointing at Rufus with a fork. Rufus twitched, getting appalled by the bad manners being showcased by his own father, the President. Rufus just turned away and looked at Cloud with a stern smile on his face. "It's a pleasure having you as company, Cloud." He just said simply.

Cloud blinked and smiled slightly. "…thank you, Mister ShinRa." He said.

"_Rufus_." The Vice-President corrected him with a slightly irritated tone to his voice.

Cloud's face flushed a little when he was corrected. "Sorry," he wanted to mutter, but President ShinRa laughed heartily and patting his son rather violently on the back. "That's my sonny-boy right there, ever high and mighty! Hehehe! The rest of you, don't act so uptight when he talks to you!" he announced to everyone in the room. His executives laughed softly at the President while the SOLDIERs tried their best to keep a straight face. Rufus looked more annoyed than anything, but he didn't say anything else. "Junon?" Cloud whispered, turning to Zack.

"Oh. He's just here for the weekend and for the ceremony today. He actually lives in Junon at present because… he has an extended business trip there." Zack reasoned in a voice loud enough for only Cloud to hear.

The laughter was interrupted by a ringing tone… an upbeat, Costa-del-Sol-ish dance tone. People with phones looked curiously at one another, but stopped when President ShinRa held a finger up as he took out his phone from his blazer pocket. "Whoops, that's me," he said as he pressed a button and listened to the man on the other line. "Oh, really? Wait, slow down, for the love of cake!" He eyed everyone in the room almost apologetically and waddled out of the conference room, chatting quickly on his way out.

Rufus blinked in irritation. "Let's just resume eating as we wait for Old—I mean, _Father_ to finish his phone call. I doubt he'll be finished soon," he told everybody who was looking at him curiously.

The executives shrugged and continued eating, chatting amongst themselves using low tones in their voices.

Cloud blinked, a look of confusion masking his features. "Gee, I thought everything will be more formal in this corporate setting… guess they aren't as formal as they say they are," he thought to himself.

Rufus looked at his facial expression and instantly knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry, Strife. That only happens when the President is here," he said.

"Yeah. Sometimes there are food fights, too, started by him. Mwahaha," added Sephiroth while referring to Rufus. Rufus just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh," said Cloud, smiling uneasily at them. As he started drinking water, Zack slapped his back. "Relax, buddyYou just got promoted to First Class!"

Cloud opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when the doors burst open with a man in white and a girl in pink rushing in. The man, clad in a laboratory coat, was puffing slightly. "Sorry we're late, Mr. President…" he paused when he didn't see the President in his seat. "I mean, uh, Mr. Vice President," he said, nodding towards Rufus.

"Oh. By all means, Professor Gast. Take a seat." Rufus motioned to the empty seat across him, where his mother was supposed to be seated.

"Ah, yes, of course," Gast, with the girl trailing behind him calmly, pulled out a seat, but stopped midway when Professor Hojo called his attention from the other side of the table. "We must discuss things, Professor Gast," the other scientist said.

"Oh. So, Aerith, just take a seat here…" he mumbled, patting his daughter's shoulders before walking briskly towards the other end of the table.

The girl named Aerith smiled sweetly at the males across the table. "Good noon, Mr. Vice President. General. And to you, gentlemen," she greeted cheerfully as she faced Zack and Cloud.

Cloud blushed slightly as Aerith glanced at him briefly. Sephiroth and Zack brightened up slightly when she looked at them.

However, Rufus' face fell. He cleared his throat before returning the greeting. "Good noon, Miss Gainsborough. Why don't you take a seat?" he said politely, but anybody could have heard the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Aerith pretended not to notice. "Oh, silly, Rufus. Call me Aerith! It's not like we're not _friends, _are we? Hee hee!" she said as she sat down. Her eyes fell on Cloud. "Hm. I do believe we haven't met before…?" she asked.

"Uh…" Cloud stammered, blushing furiously. Sephiroth snickered at him as he drank his soup. Zack held back his laughter. Rufus rolled his eyes after 10 more seconds of Cloud's "uuuuh….." Because of annoyance, he just took over. "Aerith, this is Cloud Strife. A newly appointed First Class SOLDIER. And Cloud," he turned to him, "this is Aerith Gainsborough. Daughter of Professor Gast… and girlfriend of Zack."

Cloud's face fell at the mention of "girlfriend of Zack."

"Hi there, Cloud. FYI, I'm _not _Zack's girlfriend," she said, stressing on the _not _part.

Zack shook his head while grinning. "Rufus just says that to annoy her, because he knows that Aerith thinks that I'm… well… not cute at all. They don't exactly _get along, _if you know what I mean," he muttered to Cloud.

Aerith sat down in her prim-and-proper way which annoyed Rufus. "Ugh." Rufus just made a face as he rolled his eyes and started to eat.

"Ooh! Lamb chops! My favorite! Hee!" Aerith said happily.

"You _hate_ lamb chops." Rufus pointed out.

Her smile instantly faded and she glared at him threateningly. "That was when we were children. I _love_ lamb chops now." She told him with a stern look on her face.

"You're a vegetarian." Rufus pointed out.

"That's what you think." Aerith said as she began to slice the lamb chops and started eating them heartily.

"Alright, stop fighting you two." Sephiroth muttered.

"We're not fighting, Sephiroth. We're just arguing. Hee!" Aerith said sweetly.

"I think they're synonymous." Rufus muttered.

"Oh no, they're not. Depending on what context you're using them. Right, Cloud?" she asked, turning to Cloud.

Cloud was still in his "Uhh…." moment as if he's mesmerized by her. She blinked as she stared at him. "Is there anything wrong, Cloud?" she asked curiously.

"Baaah… my name is Cloud… and I'm blonde and I have blue eyes… I'm from Nibelheim and when a lizard falls on my head it dies… baaaaah…" Cloud blurted out mindlessly as if he was in a trance.

Silence.

"I'm appalled." Rufus mindlessly said.

"What a strange boy. Are you sure the Mako exposure didn't do harm to him?" Professor Gast asked Sephiroth with a worried look on his face.

Sephiroth shrugged. "Well… I'm not sure of that… unless the symptoms are only showing now…" he began.

Aerith giggled. "Oh how cute! Heehee! He can rhyme! I love poetry! Do you love poetry, Cloud?" she asked happily.

Cloud blushed. "Uh… y…yes…" he stammered.

Zack just sighed and continued to eat.

"Cool! What's your favorite poem?" Aerith asked.

Cloud thought for a while. He couldn't really remember the titles of the poetry he had read in school, but he could clearly remember the poetry he had written secretly in his old journals that he had left at home. So he just gave it a shot: "Uhm… Ode to Tifa." He replied.

Silence.

"It's an original." He elaborated.

"Who is Tifa?" Rufus asked.

"Just… some girl from where I came from…" Cloud replied rather hesitantly.

Aerith blinked and her smile faded a little, "Is she a… girlfriend?" she asked softly.

Everyone saw the sudden rage that just emanated from Cloud. "HELL NO!" he cried out in annoyance.

Silence.

"Can we hear the poem?" Rufus asked.

Cloud sniffed and started slicing his lamb chops furiously as he began to cite it:

_"See her smile, see her laugh_

_See her stab me behind my back._

_Hear her giggle, hear her sigh_

_I hope she falls from a building so high!_

_She thinks she's great._

_It's really bad fate_

_That I got to meet someone like her_

_Gods, I wish she would burn_

_In hell_

_And all else will be well_

_In my world."_

Eveyrone was quiet for a few seconds before Zack finally commented, "You sound like you really regret knowing her."

"What exactly did she do to you and you ended up hating her like that?" Sephiroth asked in amazement.

"I'd rather not talk about it…" Cloud just muttered.

Aerith giggled. "Oh that reminds me… I have a similar poem!" she announced.

Professor Gast's mobile phone began to ring. He answered the call. "Hello? Yes. Yes sir. Okay…" he said before hanging up. "Looks like I'll have to continue eating later on. I have to go the lab. You're staying here, Aerith?" he asked his daughter. Aerith nodded. "Yes, daddy." She replied.

"Alright. I'll see you later." He said before leaving.

Zack turned to Aerith. "You were saying--?" he asked.

"Let's hear your poem." Sephiroth told her with a slight smile on his face.

Aerith cleared her throat before she began:

"_Rufus has a little birdie_

_But I want to set it free_

_So one morning I got a pair of scissors_

_And prepared him for a snip-snip…"_

Rufus interrupted her, "Oh no, not that nasty poem again!" he snapped angrily as he pounded on the table to make her stop.

"What?" she asked, acting innocent.

Sephiroth was already laughing while Zack was trying to stop himself from doing so.

"Bloody hell; it's not even a decent poem…" Rufus told them.

"But it's funny!" Sephiroth said while laughing.

Cloud snickered slightly. He hasn't felt comfortable around people for a long time already, and this was the first time in years that he had felt welcome within a group of strangers… especially with the girl named Aerith. There seemed to be something in her that attracted his curiosity. Sure he missed his mother, but he knew he won't be seeing her for a long while. But still, he could not wait to tell her the good news that he had been promoted immediately to First Class SOLDIER.

Just when he was thinking, Sephiroth's mobile phone began to ring. "Who the hell could this be…" he muttered as he checked the caller I.D.

President ShinRa.

He blinked and answered it while looking at Rufus, giving him a look that said, "It's your Old Man." "Yes, sir?" he answered.

Rufus and the rest were quiet, watching Sephiroth's facial expression stiffen.

Sephiroth swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to the ground. "Yes sir." He replied before hanging up. He got up and cleared his throat before turning to Zack and Cloud. "We're going to Wutai…" he began.

Rufus dropped his fork and knife on his plate. "Don't tell me Old Man commenced the war?" he asked in disbelief.

"War?" Aerith asked in awe.

Sephiroth was quiet for a while before nodding. "Unfortunately." He told them before leading the way to the door.

Zack got up and went after Sephiroth. Cloud suddenly felt nervous. He's going to war? What if something bad happens to him or something?

Aerith was looking worriedly at him. "…Cloud," she said softly.

He turned back to her with a serious look on his face, although his eyes revealed that he was really worried for his own sake. She smiled encouragingly at him. "…be careful, okay?" she asked.

Rufus lowered his gaze to his wine glass, thinking about the consequences of the war.

Cloud nodded and smiled slightly at Aerith. Somehow he felt some hope. "…Thank you." He told her rather uneasily, fighting the blush off his face before he turned away to leave.

Rufus and Aerith were quiet for a while before the former spoke up, "Well… there he goes."

Aerith was silent. She suddenly looked sad.

Rufus began to eat again, but he was chewing slowly. He was beginning to lose his appetite. Aerith swallowed hard, lowering her gaze onto her lap as she clutched her hands together. "You… think he'll come back safely?" she asked softly.

"Who?" he asked, surprised at her concern.

"…him…" she just said softly.

Rufus knew whom she was talking about but he just shrugged. "He's with Zack and Sephiroth. He's in good hands. Besides, he's got potential as what Sephiroth had mentioned..." He replied.

Aerith was silent before sighing heavily. "I'm not hungry anymore…" she said softly before she slowly got up and walked out of the dining area, leaving Rufus alone there.

Rufus just sat still, thinking about Cloud. "Strange fellow…" he muttered before taking a sip of water.


	4. Back to Nibelheim

**What It Should Have Been**

Written by: GQ and Zhak

Chapter Four: Back to Nibelheim…

_Some months later…_

"Finally! We're going home!" Zack cheered happily as he hopped into the truck after a long boat ride from Wutai.

"No, we're not. We're stopping-over at Nibelheim because I just received a text message from the President that we have to check out the reactor there…" Sephiroth muttered while reading the text message on his mobile phone.

"Aw shucks…" Zack muttered miserably.

Cloud was beginning to get carsick again, but he was trying to fight it off. "Where are we going again?" he asked with a queasy look on his face.

"Nibelheim…" Sephiroth replied. "Isn't that your hometown?" he added.

Cloud swallowed hard, feeling sicker than usual. "Well… not really… it's where I grew up; but I was really born in Midgar." He explained.

"Oh so you're really Midgarian." Sephiroth said.

"I'm Gongagan, actually." Zack pointed out to Cloud.

Cloud just kept quiet, thinking about Nibelheim. "We're going to Nibelheim! Finally, I can talk to my mommy and tell her the good news! …and then she'll be proud of me and spread the good news to everyone in town… and then they'll finally appreciate me for who I am!" he thought.

"Anyone in particular that you're excited to see once we get there?" Zack asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Cloud turned to him and smiled slightly. "My mom." He replied with a sheepish smile on his face. He didn't want to sound like a mama's boy.

"Your mother?" Sephiroth asked, seemingly amazed.

Zack turned to look at Sephiroth with a curious look on his face. "What about you?" He asked. Sephiroth looked at him. "What?" he asked.

"You never mentioned anything about your mother before." Zack pointed out.

All the other SOLDIERs in the same truck turned to look at Sephiroth as if they're also curious on who his mother is. Sephiroth just kept quiet and shrugged. "She's… JENOVA." He replied.

Silence.

"JENOVA?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth was quite hesitant as he realized that he never really knew anything about his "mother". He just swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to the floor. "I… never really knew her…" Sephiroth admitted.

They were silent for a few moments before the truck finally stopped. Cloud took a peek outside and saw that they were already in Nibelheim.

"Okay, go, go, go!" Sephiroth commanded, clapping his hands to indicate that they all move double time. Cloud, Zack and the rest of the SOLDIERs in their truck immediately moved out and assembled themselves in one area. Sephiroth slowly got down, breathing in some fresh air while looking around him. A few townsfolk had already come out from their homes to look at the visitors.

Sephiroth turned to the other SOLDIERs. "Okay. You can all take a break. We'll assemble here tomorrow at exactly thirteen hundred hours." He told them.

"Sir, yes, sir!" they all replied.

Cloud and Zack stood still and turned to Sephiroth. "So, are you going to the mountains now?" the latter asked.

"…I'm waiting for the guide." Sephiroth muttered while looking around.

"Guide?" Cloud asked. "I can just take you there. I mean, I know the way to the reactor." He told Sephiroth.

"No. We're following the President's orders. I think he requested for a guide. It's what he mentioned in his text message." Sephiroth replied, although it was evident through the look on his face that he was thinking that a guide is unnecessary because Cloud is just there with him.

"Who's the guide?" Zack asked.

They all fell silent when they sensed someone approaching them. A girl.

Sephiroth looked down at her and blinked. "Are you the guide?" he asked, looking at her from head to toe and then examining her face.

Cloud's mouth dropped open and he took a step backward. "YOU!" his mind was screaming, but he had lost his words.

Tifa instantly turned to the surprised SOLDIER standing next to Sephiroth… and she frowned. "…Do I know you?" she asked curiously.

Cloud just bit his lower lip and looked away from her. "I don't think so." He muttered.

Tifa thought for a while, narrowing her eyes on him.

"Sephiroth, I think we don't need a guide… _especially that_ guide. I can just take you to the mountains and show you the reactor." Cloud muttered to Sephiroth.

Zack smiled at the girl and offered a handshake. "Hi! My name's Zack. What's yours?" he asked.

She smiled sweetly. "Tifa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Zack." She responded pleasantly as she accepted the handshake.

"Make sure you wash your hands afterwards…" Cloud told Zack.

Tifa instantly let go of Zack's hand and turned to look at Cloud. "I knew it. Cloud Strife." She snarled.

Cloud just shuddered. "Teefah." He said mockingly.

Silence.

"So you know each other?" Sephiroth asked.

"Oh yes. He's my _boyfriend_. Isn't that right, Cloud?" Tifa asked sweetly with a sarcastic smile on her face while looking at him.

Cloud just frowned at her, clenching his fists. She giggled. "So you're in First Class already, huh? But I'm not in trouble right now so I'm really curious why you're here." She told him.

"What does she mean?" Zack asked, turning to Cloud.

"Oh he promised me that he's gonna come back to save me if ever I'm in trouble." Tifa told him.

"Stay out of this." Cloud snapped at her before leading the way. "It's this way, Sephiroth." He began.

"Oh excuse me!" a man went after them, holding a camera. Sephiroth stopped walking and turned back to the man. It was Mr. Lockheart. "Yes sir?" he asked out of respect.

"Papa?" Tifa blinked, turning to her father in amazement.

"Can I take a picture of you with my daughter?" Mr. Lockheart said.

"Oh no! Don't! It might come out distorted once you have it developed!" Cloud told Sephiroth.

Tifa glared angrily at Cloud. "What do you think of me, a Samara?" she snapped at him.

"Well you were the one who came out from the well once when we were kids and scared me to death!" Cloud told her.

"Haha! So you admit you were afraid of me when I did a Samara impression when I was 10 years old! Heehee!" she cheered happily.

Cloud could feel his temper rising but he was still trying to control it. Sephiroth just nudged him, "Alright, let's have our picture taken with Tifa." He told Zack and Cloud.

"No. I'll stay here." Cloud muttered, standing still and crossing his arms while eyeing Tifa with an annoyed look on his face. Tifa just smiled calmly at Cloud, prancing towards Sephiroth but made a mistake of passing before Cloud… and so he placed his foot forward, causing her to trip and fell flat on her face onto the ground.

Mr. Lockheart was stunned.

"Oh my goodness…" Sephiroth muttered, raising his eyebrow.

Zack helped her up. "Are you okay, Tifa?" he asked with a worried look on her face.

Tifa slowly got up, regaining her composure and then dusting herself with her hands. "Bloody hell, Cloud…" she sneered.

"Gee… she sounds so much like an angry Rufus." Sephiroth told Zack with an amused smile on his face.

Tifa just turned to Cloud with a stiff expression on her face. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"What is wrong with _you_?" he mocked.

Mr. Lockheart approached them. "Alright, that's enough, you two!" he said, pulling Tifa away from him. Cloud just looked at Mr. Lockheart with a dumbfounded look on his face. "How dare you show your face here again, you bastard child! And you hurt my daughter again!" he snapped at him.

Cloud's eyes widened. He heard it again. Bastard child.

Tifa clutched her father's arm, noticing the surprised reactions from Sephiroth and Zack. "Papa, that's enough." She warned.

"What do you mean, Tifa? That boy hurt you!" Mr. Lockheart told her with a look of disbelief on his face. She just kept quiet.

Sephiroth stepped forward, "Look, we're running behind schedule here. I'm supposed to be up there in the reactor at this point in time already but you are delaying it, mister. Now if you could settle this argument later on, then that would be much appreciated by me and ShinRa. In the meantime, I'll be taking this boy with me up there because he is one of my assistants in First Class SOLDIER." He told Mister Lockheart with a stern look on his face.

Cloud looked up at him with an unsure look on his face. "Gee… did he just try to redeem my reputation?" he thought silently but just shrugged it off.

"Very well… I understand and I'm sorry… but I just don't understand how that boy got promoted immediately to First Class SOLDIER, General Sephiroth." Mr. Lockheart said with a hard tone.

Cloud just bowed down his head, feeling ashamed that everyone was there to see him get humiliated.

"Because there is a great potential in him that even the President was able to recognize." Sephiroth said before smiling slightly, "Now enough of that. Shall we have our picture taken before we proceed to the mountains?" he asked calmly.

Silence.

"…okay." Tifa said flatly.

Cloud just stood still in one area while Sephiroth, Tifa and Zack had their picture taken. He started wondering where his mother was. He suddenly wanted to see her and talk to her. "Bastard Child… I'm tired of hearing that!" he thought angrily while glaring furiously at Tifa. "And my situation worsened because of her!" he thought before turning away.

"Alright, let's go now." Sephiroth signaled his companions. Tifa went ahead of them so that she can lead them. She walked beside Cloud, "Hi, Cloud! Hee!" she greeted happily.

Cloud pretended not to hear, and Tifa just shrugged. "I knew you were autistic." She muttered with an evil smile on her face. He glared unbelievably at her. She just smiled and started babbling, telling stories about Nibelheim to Zack and Sephiroth. The latter didn't seem to be very interested because he has already studied about it in history lessons, but the former seemed to be very amused with the stories.

Cloud just rolled his eyes each time Tifa would mention about the mountains… and he couldn't help but feel annoyed when she mentioned something which he has considered as a ridiculous urban legend: "They say that if a person dies, his or her soul goes to the mountains." And Cloud told her, "I thought it was the _spirit_?"

She blinked and turned to him. "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to _them_." She said airily before proceeding. Sephiroth could feel the tension between the two of them but he just decided to ignore it.

"Sephiroth's not even listening to you. Maybe you meant _him_." Cloud corrected, referring to Zack. Zack just shrugged. "Eh…" he was speechless. Tifa turned her gaze to Cloud again and flashed a plastic sweet smile at him. "Cloud, just shut your mouth." She told him with a commanding tone. And as she turned her gaze back to Zack again, she felt a strong hand push her sideways, causing her to lose her balance, trip, and then fall to the ground, hurting herself.

Sephiroth was quiet but his eyes were wide in disbelief.

Cloud proceeded to walk while whistling to himself a happy and victorious tune. Tifa glared at him. "You pushed me!" she told him as Zack helped her up. Cloud turned back to him. "I did?" he asked innocently. "Like, yeah?" she replied airily. Cloud shrugged. "What if it was him?" Cloud asked, referring to Zack. Zack's eyes widen. "What!" he reacted in shock. Tifa turned to Zack. "You…" she began with an annoyed look on her face. He just shook his head. "No! Why would I even push you!" he reacted in disbelief before turning to Cloud, "Why did you say that!" he demanded.

Cloud just continued his way up the mountains with Sephiroth following after him, "Never mind that, Knightblade. It's unimportant." Sephiroth muttered, feeling a bit impatient already.

Tifa dusted herself and marched up to Cloud, pushing him forward, causing him to land face-first onto the ground. Tifa flipped her hair, "Didn't your mother ever tell you to respect ladies?" she demanded haughtily before going ahead of them again. Sephiroth just scratched his head before following after Tifa. Zack helped Cloud up. "You alright, buddy?" he asked with concern.

Cloud looked cross. "Teefaaaaaaaaaa!" he snarled angrily out of impatience. Tifa ignored his sudden outburst of temper and just went on walking while Sephiroth was talking to her, "Have you been up to these mountains before?" But before she could answer, Cloud was able to push her forward. She landed flat on her face, startling both Sephiroth and Zack.

And then there was silence.

Tifa clenched her fists and instantly got up without dusting herself, attempting to grab Cloud and start beating him up, but Sephiroth had to stop her by holding her back, "Alright, that's enough!" he said impatiently. "Let me go! That spiky-headed jerk has gone too far!" she snapped impatiently.

Cloud just smiled sarcastically at her before proceeding up the mountains ahead of them. "This way, Sephiroth." He said.

"Zack, just hold her back for us, please? I want to get this over with so that we could go back to Nibelheim and check-in at an inn and rest until tomorrow morning." Sephiroth instructed, handing her over to the other guy. Zack held her still, "…Calm down! Why are you so mad at him anyway?" he asked in disbelief.

"He just bloody pushed me, for crying out loud!" Tifa cried out in exasperation.

"Well you pushed him too." Zack said.

"Are you trying to justify that what he did is…" Tifa began with an annoyed look on her face, but Zack just shook his head, "You'd better keep quiet now, Tifa. I think Sehpiroth might lose his temper real soon…" he said warningly.

Tifa just bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Fine…" she muttered miserably as she went on with Zack.

Upon reaching the Nibelheim Reactor, Sephiroth immediately began to inspect the place. He peeked into one of the vessel-like containers. "Man…" he muttered before moving away from it with a frown on his face as if he was disgusted by what he saw. "I'm glad it didn't happen to me!" he thought as he moved to the next vessel. Curiously, Cloud took a peek into the vessel too… and he cringed. "What are those!" he demanded in shock.

"Those are… former human beings who weren't able to take the Mako exposure, so they mutated into those beings." Sephiroth explained with a deep frown on his face.

Tifa took a peek inside too and gasped before taking a step back. "Whassamatter, Teefaaa? Scared of the mutated humans?" Cloud teased with a sarcastic smile on his face. Tifa laughed sarcastically at him. "Actually I was just surprised because I thought you were the one inside!"

Cloud just glared menacingly at her but didn't say anything else. He just stood still before deciding to look through the glass of the vessel where she had peeked. He blinked and moved away from it before saying out loud, "I think it said _'oooh. Who's the ugly girl? I think I like her! Please make her mate with me so that we can spread our ugliness all over the Planet! Hoo hoo hoo!_'" Cloud even did some voice-acting, talking in falsetto in an effort to imitate the monster.

Tifa laughed sarcastically, "Ha-ha-ha! Well then tell him that the name of the _ugly girl_ is _CLOUD_ so that he'll be happy!" she said airily.

Cloud clenched his fists.

"Alright, that's enough. Cloud step out for a while and stand guard outside." Sephiroth instructed. Cloud turned to him unbelievably. "What!"

"You heard me, Strife." Sephiroth said impatiently.

Cloud just decided the General's orders and walked out. Tifa made a face and followed after Zack and Sephiroth.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Zack asked Sephiroth.

Sephiroth thought for a while before saying, "The President wants me to check on it."

"What for?" Zack asked curiously.

Sephiroth was not even sure. He just shrugged. "Maybe so that he can know if there are problems in the distribution of electricity?" he replied. "You're not even sure…" Zack told him. "He never really tells me the reason." Sephiroth replied. "Did you try asking Rufus?" Zack asked. "Yes, but it seems to be a big family secret…" Sephiroth explained.

Zack blinked. "Oh. Okay…" he just muttered.

Tifa was curiously observing them. "You guys are from ShinRa?" she asked. Zack turned around to look at her. "Well… yeah. We're SOLDIERs. ShinRa SOLDIERs." He replied. Sephiroth laughed slightly, "Why? You're interested in becoming a part of us?" he asked her jokingly.

"Nah-uh. I don't think I could qualify. I'm too young." She told them.

"Well Cloud was barely 15 when he joined. Maybe you could too." Zack told her convincingly. She cringed. "You just talked me out of it." She muttered before tossing a lock of hair off her shoulder and turned away, crossing her arms.

"You really hate Cloud that much?" Sephiroth asked. "What's so hateful about him?" he added.

"A lot. Nobody really likes him because he's really strange. He came from the city with his mother one day… and then we just simply hate him. It's like…" she stopped herself.

Silence.

"It's like what?" Zack asked.

She almost said, "It's like the way we hate ShinRa in an impulsive way because they exploit the Planet's resources." But of course she had to stop herself because these men are from ShinRa. She might get herself imprisoned if she continued. "It's like… something is really strange about him…" she just repeated, meaning to sound vague so that they would be confused… and maybe leave her alone and forget what she said.

"What do you mean there's something strange?" Sephiroth asked.

"So what if he comes from Midgar? City people aren't that rowdy or anything like that? I'm sure Cloud isn't one of those?" Zack told her.

She just shrugged. "Bloody hell, I don't even understand myself on why he's so… _hateful_! I mean, don't you just feel the impulse to just make fun of him when you see him?" she asked.

"That's so mean." Zack reacted in disbelief.

"Well I don't find the spiky hair funny because I've seen a lot of spiky-haired people around the city…" Sephiroth stated flatly before turning to her. "Never mind, let's go back. Everything seems alright here." He told them.


	5. Why Sephiroth Went Insane

Chapter Five: Why Sephiroth Went Insane

When they finally got back to the town, Sephiroth instructed Zack to get them rooms at the inn, although Cloud insisted that they just stay with him at his house so that he can also introduce them to his mother. Tifa, on the other hand, decided to go home and cool off because the trip back to the town wasn't that splendid, especially with Cloud around. She tripped five times during the walk down the mountains and blamed it all on Cloud… and for the finale, he was the one who tumbled down the mountain pathway because Tifa pushed her when she had enough of his silly games.

As soon as Zack and Cloud were able to reserve rooms at the inn, they went to look for Sephiroth because they realized that he was not even waiting for them in the lobby. "Where'd he go?" Zack asked in confusion. Cloud shrugged. "Beats me…" he muttered while looking around. "Oh well, it's a small town. Should be go look for him?" he suggested.

"I think I'll go look for him on my own. You go and visit your mother. I'm sure you're excited to see her already." Zack suggested with a smile on his face. Cloud was surprised at him. "…really?" he asked in awe. Zack patted his back, "I know how it feels like to be away from a parent. I miss my own mother too, you know." He said before going ahead to search for Sephiroth. Cloud was quiet for a while, checking the time on his watch. 6:00. He smiled slightly. He remembered that at that hour, his mother would be preparing dinner already. He felt his stomach rumble and he realized that he hasn't eaten anything else since breakfast. With that, he decided to hurry to his own house.

oOoOo

Sephiroth broke into the ShinRa Mansion while Zack and Cloud were getting rooms. A question has been bothering him ever since it has been asked of him… and he was going to find out by himself the answer if no one else can answer it. After searching, he finally found the library of the ShinRa Mansion and started to look for books related to JENOVA and Mako and the Planet. Gathering five books during his first search, he went over to a table, placed the books there and sat on the big armchair comfortably. The place was dusty but he tried not to mind it, although he sneezed a couple of times. "Darn dust…" he muttered as he flipped open the first page of the first book he had found on JENOVA…

oOoOo

From outside his house, Cloud could smell the dinner that his mother was cooking. He smiled slightly as he opened the door, his heart beating fast from excitement upon seeing his mother again. "Mom?" he called out.

The house was silent for a few moments before he heard a response from the kitchen, "…who's there?"

He shut the door, but before he could answer, his mother appeared from the kitchen doorway and stared wide-eyed at him. "Oh…. Oh my… oh my goodness! Is that you, son?" she asked in disbelief as tears welled up in her eyes. She ran to her son and embraced him happily, "Oh Cloud!" she said happily.

Cloud returned the embrace with a happy smile on his face, "Mommy…" he said softly.

She sniffed and looked up at him, and then studied him from head to toe. "My, you've grown a bit taller from the last time I saw you… and…you made it into SOLDIER? I can't believe it!" she said happily before gazing up into her son's blue eyes.

"Not just any SOLDIER, mom! I'm in First Class!" he told her proudly.

She gasped in shock. "Oh my! So soon? In one year?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well… General Sephiroth says I'm extraordinary so he asked for consideration from the President. Good thing he agreed." Cloud explained proudly.

The smile on his mother's face faded, getting replaced by a stunned look. "…the President?" she asked softly.

Cloud nodded proudly. "Yep. I spoke to him in person and he gave me the promotion right then and there at the luncheon wherein I was invited! I'm so glad I entered SOLDIER, I finally have a lot of good friends!"

Mrs. Strife just forced a smile and slowly turned away. She sulked. "That's… good to hear, Cloud…" and she walked back into the kitchen. Cloud put down his weapons by the couch before following after his mother, "What's for dinner, mom?" he asked, unaware of his mother's sudden change of mood.

"I'm… cooking some porridge for dinner." She replied plainly. Cloud sat down. "Oh cool! I missed your home-cooked meal, mom." He admitted. He was really glad to be home and even his mother could notice that in him, but she could not get it out of her head that he spoke to the President…

"Why? Didn't you like the food served in SOLDIER?" she asked casually.

"Well… nothing really compares to your cooking, mom." Cloud replied rather shyly. She smiled as she chuckled lightly while stirring the porridge in the saucepan. "You silly boy, you. Stop flattering your own mother." She said playfully. Cloud just smiled. "And we won the Wutai war, mom! I'm sure it will give me a raise in the salary!" he told her.

"That's nice to hear." She said.

"So, do you get the money that I send to you every month?" he asked.

"Of course. It's really helping me with the finances here at home." She replied. "So how's Midgar and ShinRa?" she asked.

"Midgar… seems fine, I guess. ShinRa… well, the President seems to be a nice man though." He replied. She frowned upon hearing that but she just shrugged it off, "So, got a girlfriend already?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

Cloud blushed. "N…no, mom. I think I'm too young to…" he stammered uncomfortably, suddenly thinking about Aerith whom he had just met before he left for the Wutai War.

Mrs. Strife laughed. "When you left for the city, I was already betting that when you come back, you'd have a girl with you! Hahaha!" she said playfully before looking at Cloud. She could see that he was beet red and looking uncomfortably at her with a frown on his face. She smiled sweetly at him, "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm… just not into the thought of having a girlfriend yet… and I just don't care about girls!" he told her.

"Oh? Why not?" she asked curiously. "…'fraid of them…" Cloud muttered. She shook her head. "It's because of Tifa, right?" she asked.

Cloud blinked.

"Cloud, you don't have to hide your feelings for Tifa from me. I'm your mother! I know you like her!" she said.

Silence.

Cloud was mortified.

She smiled softly, "After you left, Tifa told us about the letter you gave to her. It's a love letter, right? And you promised one another that you'd be back…" she began, but Cloud got up in annoyance, "MOTHER?" he exclaimed.

She froze. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Cloud's temper rose. "Mom! I thought it was pretty obvious when we were younger that I –don't- like that—that _Tifa_at ALL!"

"You don't?" Mrs. Strife asked weakly.

"_Of course not!_I mean, she hates my guts and made my childhood a miserable hell! She always got me in trouble and blamed me for every possible bad thing that happened to her! Don't you remember the time when she blamed me of pushing her off a cliff! MAN! I wish I did, so I could have gotten rid of her for good—"

"CLOUD!" Mrs. Strife snapped. Cloud paused and looked at his mom. She inhaled sharply before saying, "Young man, I do not like this behavior at all! Goodness! One year in the Big City, and you're already back-stabbing! Why, you had completely forgotten that Tifa was one of your childhood friends…"

"Hah. Some childhood friend," Cloud muttered.

Mrs. Strife looked at him and sighed. "Oh, son. This is what I'm talking about—you badly need somebody to share your pains with. Keeping anger locked up like that isn't healthy at all. You might get wrinkles, or worse—hemorrhoids," she said, patting his back.

He looked at his mother strangely. "Hemorrhoids? Mom, I don't think I could get hemorrhoids that way."

"Yes you could," she said matter-of-factly. "That's why you need… hmm, an older girlfriend, that's it!" she brightened up and clapped both hands. "Someone at least one year older than you… somebody who'll take care of you! Maybe teach you some manners, cook you some good food, give my son tender loving care when he needs it—"

Cloud sighed. "Mom—"

"Yes, and somebody to help you get medicine when you _do _get hemorrhoids—"

His face fell. "Mom, why are so sure that I'll get hemorrhoids?"

She clicked her tongue. "Mothers are always sure," she answered simply.

"Yeah, like you were sure that I _liked _Tifa." Cloud shivered again.

"Oh, come on now, Cloud. I just assumed that because you always looked at her as if you want to go up to her and do something when you were younger. I didn't know that you wanted to go up to her to tell her off," she replied.

"Hah. To strangle her is more like it." Cloud muttered with contempt. He received a slap on the back of the head for that.

oOoOo

_A week later…_

Sephiroth's mouth was opening slightly as he continued flipping through various books and folders from the shelves. "Flip. Flip. Flip." His was the only voice that echoed in the library.

_09.12.67. Approx. 5 months after impregnation. Potent liquid with JENOVA cells injected through womb of mother and into the fetus…_

_09.15.67. Approx. 5 months after impregnation. Fetus shows signs of considerably stronger respiration. Tests for presence of Mako are done on mother and fetus. _

_10.13.67. Approx. 6 months after impregnation. Presence of mako positive in both mother and fetus. JENOVA cells in fetus are fused with its nerve cells. Genes of fetus are modified considerably by alien cells…_

_10.14.67. Approx. 6 months after impregnation. Fetus shows signs of homeostasis to the alien cells. Scientists decide to rename this specific JENOVA project to the Sephiroth project… _

Sephiroth angrily closed the folder. Holding it in his hands, he almost crushed it in anger. "So… I was an _experiment! _This mother of mine _isn't _JENOVA after all! She's actually some insane scientist who willingly had herself impregnated for a stupid ShinRa project that involved aliens!" he thought angrily. He threw the folder aside and angrily stormed in between the shelves to exit from the library.

"I wanna burn this stupid library… I could forget all that I'd read… then I'll leave Nibelheim and demand an explanation from those freaks in ShinRa Labs… and…" he stopped short when a certain book caught his eye.

"Hmmm?" he nabbed it and examined the cover. He traced the weird, foreign symbols on its hard cover and scanned it until he recognized a language that he could understand. "…. Hmmm."

_Kama__ Sutra _

Something clicked in his mind. "_Kama__ Sutra… _hey! I think I've heard of this somewhere… this is funky sex stuff from far-away, right?" he said, grinning to himself and suddenly/momentarily forgetting that he was in a murderous rampage a few moments before.

_"This book is an ancient script that chronicles different sexual positions from a certain place in the East,… techniques here are detailed and illustrated as they were in the original manuscript…" _

"All right, enough already! I wanna get to the good parts NOW!" Sephiroth cheered, skipping the rest of the foreword and started skimming through the pages. Upon seeing the first illustration that he saw, he frowned, "Damn. That's ugly." He muttered and looked at the description. The name of the illustration was in English…

He shrugged and flipped through another page and saw an interesting position. "Gee… how do you do this?" he thought in curiosity as he stared at the illustration. He smiled naughtily. "Heheheh. Once I get myself a girl…" he was thinking to himself… and remembered the female Turk that he has been eyeing ever since she entered ShinRa. He snickered maliciously and turned to the how-to on the next page… and his eyes widened.

The text was in Hindu.

He stiffened.

"What the f…?" he cussed angrily as he flipped through the next few pages and realized that the How-To's are retained in the original Hindu text while the rest are translated in English. He dropped the book in frustration as he stared blankly at the bookshelf ahead of him. "God… damn… it. I should've taken my Foreign Language lesson in Hindu seriously!" he snarled angrily at himself before searching for his mobile phone and once he found it, instantly dialed Rufus's number. After a few rings, his friend answered, "Yes?

"Do you know how to read Hindu?" Sephiroth instantly asked with a hopeful smile on his face.

Rufus was silent for a few moments before saying, "No. I don't. I didn't study it. I only know 2 types of Wutaian: Mandarin and Nihongo; Gongagan, Latin, German, Spanish and French. Why?"

"DAMN! I thought you're smart and you know a lot of languages?" Sephiroth demanded.

"I beg your pardon! Of course I know how to speak in other languages but I didn't study Hindu!" Rufus snapped angrily at him, feeling insulted. And he hung up.

Sephiroth threw his mobile phone at the wall, eventually destroying it. "AAAAAARGH!" he screamed in frustration; his voice echoing through the walls of the ShinRa Mansion and out into the town proper of Nibelheim.

oOoOo

Zack blinked. "That's Sephiroth!" he thought as he went towards the direction of the ShinRa Mansion where he thought he heard it. Cloud followed after him. They were strolling around Nibelheim but they were interrupted when they heard Sephiroth's scream. "Why's he screaming?" Cloud asked curiously.

"I don't know but he hasn't been coming out from there for a week now! He even gets angry at me for disturbing him sometimes whenever I'm asking if he's alright or whenever I decide to visit him." Zack explained as the finally arrived at the gate of the Mansion, but they stopped in their tracks when they saw Sephiroth marching to them with an angry look on his face.

Cloud took a step backward when he saw the deranged stare from Sephiroth's glowing green eyes. "Uhm… Zack," he began.

Zack was too preoccupied in asking Sephiroth, "What's wrong?" instead of paying attention to Cloud's concern.

"Well… you're out of the mansion. Is everything okay?" Cloud asked curiously, trying to sound casual.

Sephiroth stopped in front of them and opened the gates, glaring at them, trying to keep cool.

Silence.

"Anything… wrong?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth was about to speak but was interrupted by Zack, "Oh yeah! Mister Lockheart had copies developed for you and me! So here you go! This one's yours!" he said, handing a photo to Sephiroth. Sephiroth just snatched it, mindlessly putting it inside his wallet and then still tried to keep cool. "Alright… who among you can read Hindu?" he asked.

Zack and Cloud exchanged confused glances with each other before turning back to Sephiroth. "I… no… The only languages that I can read and speak correctly would be Gongagan and Midgarian English. Why?" Zack replied uncomfortably.

Cloud shook his head. "I… didn't study any foreign language." He replied quite sheepishly.

Silence.

Zack noticed the sudden glint of anger in Sephiroth's eyes. "…Are you alright? You haven't eaten for a week, I think you need to eat something…" he began, but trailed off when Sephiroth just growled, "AAAAAAARRRRRGH!" and brought out his Masamune, almost slashing Zack and Cloud's heads off their bodies in the process. The two dodged. "Sephiroth, what's wrong with you!" Zack demanded. Cloud saw the wild look in Sephiroth's eyes and he knew at that instant that the General had lost his marbles. He instantly moved away, taking Zack with him.

"THE WORLD IS SO UNFAIR!" Sephiroth shouted in frustration before proceeding to the direction of the mountains. "I'm gonna get rid of that goddamn JENOVA head! I'm showing those ShinRa asses that I am not a specimen! I am a person! I AM SEPHIROTH! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed victoriously.

"What the--! What happened?" Zack asked in confusion as he ran after Sephiroth. "Hey, Sephiroth! Come back here! It's dangerous in the mountains at this hour!" he called out. Cloud did not know what else to do so he just ran after them.

From Tifa's house, she could see the commotion that was being caused by Sephiroth. Curious enough, she decided to follow them since it was alarming the citizens. When Cloud realized that she was trailing behind, he stopped to confront her, "Go home. You are not needed here." He told her.

She frowned at him. "I want to know what's going on!" she demanded.

"What's going on is that you have to go home because this is very dangerous. You don't know Sephiroth!" Cloud told her before turning away.

"Well I do. He's a nice man and he's the best SOLDIER there is!" she said rather proudly and dreamily. Cloud was mortified. "Oh don't tell me you have a crush on him!" he demanded in shock.

She stuck out her tongue at him, "That's none of your business, Strife." And she pushed him off her path to follow after Zack and Sephiroth.

Cloud was surprised at her. Clenching his fists, he still ran after her, "Tifa, please! If you don't want anything bad to happen to you, I suggest that you just go back home!" he told her; this time, he sounded worried. He wouldn't wanna be blamed for anything else that is negative regarding Tifa! He has had enough suffering and humiliation for the last several years as a child in Nibelheim because of her! But she didn't listen; she just went on…

oOoOo

Sephiroth finally arrived at the place where JENOVA's head is located. He sneered as he peeked inside, "Open the door, _mother_! I want to talk to you!" he said rather sarcastically as he began to destroy the door.

JENOVA's head just seemed to stare back at him… and he thought he heard her tell him, "_Finally! You've discovered the truth about your true identity! You are not my son, for crying out loud! Whoever told you so should take a hike, for cryin' out loud! My golly, you've been living such a big lie all your life! You should kill that scientist!"_

He shook his head in shock. "Did you just talk to me!" he demanded. He felt like he was really losing his mind.

"_Oh yes, I just did."_

Silence.

"_I am JENOVA, your—quote-unquote—mother, according to that Hojo guy. My oh my, he sure showed you, huh? Blame it all on that guy who experimented on me!"_

Sephiroth was dumbfounded, just staring at the head talking to him.

JENOVA seemed to smile at him as she proceeded, "_Hey, don't blame me, boy! I didn't do anything bad! I had been exploited! I was just passing through your Planet's orbit going to Pluto when your Planet's gravitational pull just had to pull and drag me all the way down inside your Planet… and then eventually made me crash. By the time I realized that I was in this Planet, my body was missing, dammit! Unfortunately I couldn't react and even if I did, those humans wouldn't hear me! Only the Cetra can…or my own kind!"_

"Does that mean I'm just like you?" Sephiroth demanded in confusion.

"_Well… you have my cells… but you're not a pure breed. You're still human in every other way_." She stated flatly.

"AAAARGH!" Sephiroth clutched his head. "No! My mind's playing tricks on me! All because of _that_ _book_!" he wailed in annoyance.

"_Whoa… what book?"_

"The Kama Sutra! I have to know… I have to know Hindu!" Sephiroth snapped.

JENOVA was quiet for a while before laughing. "_Well, well, looks like you're the first one with my blood who couldn't even read or speak in Hindu huh? Oh too bad…"_ she said pitifully.

Sephiroth clenched his fists. "You… mock me… I am not… an idiot… I am… intelligent… I am the best… I am…" He began, gasping. He was already hyperventilating.

"_Tell you what, boy, if you free me and get me a ship to Pluto out of this god-forsaken planet, I promise to give you the knowledge you'll need to be able to understand and read Hindu._" She told him.

Sephiroth froze and blinked. "…really?" he asked.

"_We aliens don't make promises if we don't know how to keep them_." She responded with a promising tone. Sephiroth smiled gleefully. "Alright!" and he began to think of a way to unlock the door… until he was interrupted by Zack. "No, Sephiroth! Do you want to get killed! What you're doing is dangerous!" Zack called out.

"What do you know anyway? Stay back!" Sephiroth snapped at him, pulling out his Masamune. Zack raised his hands at him. "Alright, alright, calm down! Tell me what's wrong!" he said, hoping that Sephiroth wasn't as crazy as he had thought he could be.

Sephiroth sneered at him. "Nothing… is… wrong." And he turned back towards JENOVA again. "Sephiroth… don't tell me you're going to free _that_?" Zack asked in shock, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

"I _am_ going to free _this_. I have to!" Sephiroth told him with a shaky tone.

"What for?" Zack asked in confusion.

"None of your business, Knightblade!" Sephiroth snarled as he began to use the Masamune to cut through the locks even if he knew that it would take him hours before he could finally undo everything. The locks weren't ordinary after all. They were specially designed by Hojo and Gast way back.

Zack rushed to him. "Sephiroth, don't! Do you want to get fired!" he said in protest as he began to restrain his friend.

"I don't care if I get fired! I have to free JENOVA!" Sephiroth snapped as he tried his best to squirm away from Zack's strong grip against him.

Tifa and Cloud finally arrived at the scene and were dumbfounded by what they saw: Zack hugging Sephiroth. Tifa's jaw dropped. "Oh my God!" she reacted in shock.

Cloud accidentally dropped his rifle to the ground due to ultimate shock.

Silence.

Zack let go of Sephiroth. "Hey it's not what you think!" he told the two. Sephiroth waved an angry fist at him. "Now look what you've done! Now they think I'm gay! You…" he began in anger as he clutched the handle of his Masamune tightly, wanting to use it against Zack. Zack stepped away. "Hey… Sephiroth… look buddy, I'm sorry!" he said in protest. Sephiroth began to slash random things just to get to Zack, but his friend was really good at dodging his attacks. "Ack! Sephiroth! Stop that! You're acting like a deranged maniac!" Zack told him in panic as he continued to dodge.

"HACK! HACK! HACK! Nobody messes with my plans!" Sephiroth snarled angrily.

"Sephiroth, stop that!" Cloud said, trying to restrain him from behind. Sephiroth squirmed away from Cloud's grasp and went on to chase Zack.

"Why are you over-reacting to the supposed-homosexuality! It's not true anyway, right?" Zack asked in confusion.

"What about my pride and my reputation!" Sephiroth snapped angrily.

Cloud jumped onto Sephiroth's back, basically hugging his neck from behind. "Alright, stop that now!" Cloud warned. Sephiroth couldn't breathe. "ARGH! Let…go! choke…" he began to swing his Masamune in random directions. Cloud was beginning to worry for his own life and for Zack's life as well.

Tifa just stared in shock, watching them in horror.

"Tifa, run back to the town and ask for help!" Zack instructed.

"NO! Help me out here! Zack get out of here!" Cloud commanded. Without thinking, Tifa rushed over to Cloud to help him restrain Sephiroth. "What is wrong with him!" she cried out in confusion.

"I don't effing know!" Cloud answered… and then in one swift motion, Sephiroth was able to push them off away from himself. Cloud and Tifa landed in opposite directions, but the one whom Sephiroth approached was the latter. Tifa stared up at him in horror. "Shit!" she thought in panic.

"What I can't really stand are people who meddle in other people's private matters…" Sephiroth sneered as he raised up his Masamune at her.

"NO!" Zack cried out, rushing to Sephiroth to restrain him.

Cloud just sat up and stared for a while. "Gee… Sephy's gonna kill my mortal enemy. Hmm… this is cool. It will be the end of my misery! …oh what the hell, I'm not as mean as she is!" he thought silently to himself before shouting, "TIFA! Move away!"

Tifa didn't need instructions from Cloud. She instantly kicked Sephiroth's crotch. "Hah! No more babies for you, you big brute!" she screamed at him… well her attack could've saved her from the Masamune, but Zack jumping up on Sephiroth's back to restrain him did the trick: Sephiroth accidentally slashed Tifa diagonally from her lower left breast down to her right waist.

Silence.

Sephiroth dropped the Masamune in shock. "Now look what you've made me do!" he blamed Zack before pushing him away.

Cloud was just gaping at them in disbelief. "Are you stupid! I told you to move away but no, you didn't even care to listen!" he wanted to scream at her but all he could do is stare and gape helplessly at her, not knowing if he should pity her or just let her bleed to death and then celebrate during her wake and make sure there are fireworks after her funeral.

Sephiroth, on the other hand, was already thinking of other ways to get JENOVA out of there, but he couldn't think clearly because of the situation that they were all in. "ARGH! Stupid… stupid… stupid, stupid people! Everyone! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" finally, he completely snapped and ran off going down the mountain proceeding back to Nibelheim.

Cloud instantly got up and rushed after him, "NO!" he called out.

Zack went to Tifa, "You alright?" he asked weakly.

"…Yeah I guess so… ow…" she looked down at her slashed gut. "Ack!" she reacted in horror. "No, no, don't move so much, I'll get you back to town!" he told her as he carried her into his arms and went after Cloud and Sephiroth… but then there were already other ShinRa SOLDIERS who were following him, thinking that he and Cloud were the ones who caused the commotion. Zack had a hard time ditching the SOLDIERS and protecting Tifa at the same time, and by the time they finally arrived in Nibelheim, they were shocked to see that the whole town was already in flames. People were screaming, some were running for their lives, but majority of them were already in flames too. Tifa fainted in his arms, not being able to take the scenario. Approaching them was Zangan, Tifa's instructor. "Young man!" Zangan called out. Zack easily recognized him. "Please… take Tifa away from here! She needs to be brought to a hospital!" he instructed. Zangan took his student in his arms and nodded. "Sephiroth is over there by the mansion!" he told Zack.

Zack swallowed hard, "Thanks…" he said, thinking if he should still go and follow or not.

"But… Mrs. Strife is…" Zangan continued.

"Mrs. Strife!" Zack exclaimed before he clenched his fists. "…Alright, stay right over there away from these flames. I'll be back! I'll look for her, okay?" he asked before he looked up at the fiery red-orange atmosphere ahead of him, swallowing hard. "Here goes…" he thought silently before running through the flames go get to the Strife residence. When he finally arrived there, he went straight inside and started yelling, "Mrs. Strife!" while fighting the urge to cough and choke because of the thick smoke around him. Finally, he heard a woman coughing from upstairs. He instantly rushed upstairs and found Mrs. Strife in her room, struggling to breathe. Zack instantly grabbed her and led her out of the bedroom, "C'mon!" he urged. Mrs. Strife was already having a hard time focusing on where she was walking on, but she still struggled to do so. She was a strong woman after all. "Where's… where's my son? Is he safe?" she asked as tears fell from her eyes.

"…Yes he is," Zack replied, although he wasn't really sure… but he hoped Cloud is safe from Sephiroth. He didn't want to make Mrs. Strife worry so much about her only beloved son. Zack led her to the place where Zangan was waiting with an unconscious Tifa.

"Mrs. Strife! Are you alright?" Zangan asked in worry.

Mrs. Strife was still coughing even as she stared at Tifa in horror. Her mouth dropped open when she realized that the young lady was bleeding to death. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed in shock.

Zack got some keys in his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Strife. "Here's a key to one of the vehicles owned by us SOLDIERs. It's parked near the forest. I'm sure it's still there because I'm the one in charge of its keys. Use it to get away from this place as far away as possible!" he instructed. Mrs. Strife took the keys and smiled thankfully at Zack, "Thank you, young man." She said before she and Zangan turned and walked away with the unconscious Tifa.

With that, Zack decided to finally look for Cloud.


	6. Escape from Nibelheim and Back to Midgar

**What It Should Have Been**

By: generalquistis and zhakeena

Generalquistis's note: uhm… you might encounter terms here such as "Wutaian" or "Wutaian Language", "Midgarian English" or "Midgarian", or "Nibelheim English". For the sake of this fic (or at least from my own and my co-author's wild imagination), Wutaian is like Japanese or Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, whatever…); Midgarian English would be something like American English… and Nibelheim English would be something similar to British English.

Six: Escape from Nibelheim and Back to Midgar…

Zack finally found Cloud all dazed and unmoving on the ground outside the ShinRa Mansion. "Where's Sephiroth?" Zack asked.

Cloud did not answer. He was too dazed because of the smoke and he was too tired. "Aw man!" Zack stooped down and lifted him up, draping him over his shoulder. "I'll just get you out of here…" he muttered. Cloud just moaned, feeling so sick. "Where's… my mommy?" he asked.

Zack raised an eyebrow, realizing that Cloud sounded like a kid back there, but before he could answer, Cloud had finally lost his consciousness. "Oh no… I hope he'll be alright… and I wonder where Sephiroth is…" he thought to himself as he made his way out of the smoke and fire of the town. "I think the others think that it's _our_ fault that's why they're on the look-out for us now…" Zack thought miserably as he kept on running to safety.

He was beginning to get tired but he still kept on running to avoid the ShinRa SOLDIERs. "Well… we're as good as fired now, buddy," Zack muttered to the sleeping Cloud.

After a long while, they had finally gone past the forest and was in the desert highway where it was very sunny. He was really panting hard, looking around for any traces of passing vehicles. Maybe they could hitch a ride to the port and then steal a ride on one of the ships heading back to Midgar or even Junon. He just needed to see Rufus… he could help them. He knows that Rufus wouldn't believe his father or anybody else even if they inform him that Zack and Cloud were the ones who burned Nibelheim with Sephiroth. They were buddies anyway.

He calmed down a bit when he saw a small truck pass by. He waved at it. "Hey!"

The truck stopped for them. Zack instantly ran to it with Cloud still on his back. "Could we hitch a ride to the nearest port? My friend here needs help and we need to get back to Midgar immediately." He asked. The driver just shrugged. "Go ahead." He said.

oOoOo

_A week later…_

President ShinRa was enraged, but at the same time, worried. "This is it, Old Man. Your downfall has finally arrived." Rufus told him. He had called upon his son from Junon to assist him with the matter regarding the burning of Nibelheim, and Rufus had just arrived five minutes earlier but the boy wasn't doing much of a help for him.

President ShinRa pounded an angry fist on his desk and leaned back on his seat. "You're not helping, Rufus. You're supposed to help me!" he shouted at his son's face.

Rufus just remained standing by the window, looking outside with a cold look on his face. The First Lady, his mother, was just seated on the couch in one corner of the office and fidgeting with her gloves. She looked disturbed.

The other executives were there, including Hojo and Gast. Aerith was standing behind her father and she really looked very worried. A few SOLDIERs were also within the area.

"It's your fault, however, _father_. If you didn't let your second-rate scientist do whatever he wants with the JENOVA Project, this wouldn't have happened." Rufus said airily as he raked his fingers through his hair.

Hojo twitched upon hearing that. He had never really been into good terms with the President's son ever since the boy was born.

"Shut up, Rufus." President ShinRa muttered, trying to control his temper.

"No, you listen up and you listen good, _father_. Now do you understand the consequences of what you've done? Now the people will know that you are a fraud. The media will know. They built up your reputation; they can easily make it fall down. The media will know what happened and they will bring about your downfall. You'll lose all your money and you'll be living in the slums…" Rufus started planting negative things into his father's mind to cause more panic so that he wouldn't be able to think clearly.

President ShinRa got up in rage, "NO! I will never let that happen!" he turned to his executives. "Give out orders to all employees; this must never reach the media! There will be no Press Conferences unless I say so. Reeve," he turned to the Head of Urban Development.

"Yes, sir?" Reeve responded.

"I want the reconstruction of Nibelheim. The same appearance, the same EVERYTHING! I want it to look like as if nothing happened!" and the President turned to his other executives, smiling slyly at them, "And then I want many of our employees to occupy those homes and act like the citizens of Nibelheim." He continued.

Rufus turned to his father, glaring at him unbelievably. "You're insane!" he reacted.

"This is for the good of the company, Rufus." The President replied with a proud look on his face. Rufus marched up to him, "Well then tell me, what about Zack, Sephiroth and Cloud? Their bodies weren't found in the ruined houses or anywhere in the area. They survived. And now you're asking for their heads?" he demanded.

"Well… I never thought you'd stoop down to the levels of those… people? They're not from our own class, Rufus. I can't believe you're even friends with them." President ShinRa said mockingly. Rufus was surprised at what he said.

The First Lady swallowed hard, clenching her fists as she got up in protest, "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked the President. He turned to her. "What, dear?" he asked with an innocent smile on his face. Her blue eyes widened in awe. She pursed her lips, took a deep breath and just walked out of the office, leaving everyone, but the President, puzzled. Rufus eyed his father with a cold look on his face, "You are a bastard." His eyes seem to tell him. But President ShinRa was too numb to see or feel the anger in his son's eyes. With that, Rufus walked out of the office, following after his mother. Aerith followed after him. "Rufus," she called out. He did not stop, he just kept on walking; after all, he knows that she can easily catch up with him. She did. Rufus knew what she was thinking about so he said, "I know they're alive. I'll send out some Turks to find them."

Aerith grabbed his arm to make him stop walking. He did, but he didn't face her. She took a deep breath as she stared at Rufus with a sad look on her face, "Rufus, Sephiroth just doesn't go snapping like that? There must've been something that triggered him to do that! Shouldn't you go investigate on it first?" she asked.

Back on the 70th floor, while Aerith and Rufus were talking downstairs, Hojo was making a proposal to the President: "I believe JENOVA has something to do with all these… We'll just have to find out what. But we're going to need a Cetra to be able to find the connection."

Gast's eyes widened when he heard that. "I strongly object to that proposal!" he protested.

President ShinRa shrugged. "Well at times like these, you shouldn't be thinking of your own sake and your family's sake! You have to think of the safety of the masses! Now I want you to help Hojo and the rest of the Science Division to come up with a solution to the problem. And since you are a very loyal employee, I want you to surrender your daughter and your wife to ShinRa for the benefit of everybody." he told Gast.

Gast frowned at him. "Well in that case, I quit. I wouldn't allow you selfish bastards to touch my wife and my daughter!" he said frustratingly as he turned to walk away, but he stopped when he heard President ShinRa say, "So I am a selfish bastard, eh?" and he heard the click of guns around him. He slowly turned around to face the President again and he realized that there were rifles pointed at him already at the command of the President… and the SOLDIERs holding the rifles looked like they were all ready to fire.

President ShinRa smiled calmly at Gast. "Well, if you don't abide by my rules, I'll just have to forcefully make you work for me…"

oOoOo

Aerith and Rufus jerked up in surprise when they heard rifles firing from the 70th floor. Aerith felt something pierce through her heart and tears just fell from her eyes. "Daddy!" she screamed in horror before deciding to run back to the 70th floor. Rufus somewhat knew this was going to happen but he didn't know how, but before Aerith could go back, he quickly grabbed her wrist, "No! You have to get out of here!" he told her.

"But my daddy!—…"

"There's no time!" Rufus told her as he led the way to the elevator, but they were too late. They were already surrounded by SOLDIERs. "Bloody hell…" he muttered. His father was quicker than he thought. Aerith swallowed hard as she hid behind Rufus.

"Move away from that Cetra, Rufus." President ShinRa said through the P.A. system. Rufus knew that he was watching them through the surveillance cameras hidden somewhere on the ceiling.

Rufus still maintained a cool and calm appearance as he stared coldly at the SOLDIERs, examining the looks on their faces. Shrugging, he stepped away from Aerith. Aerith's eyes widened. Has she been betrayed by a childhood friend? "Rufus!" she attempted to go after him, reaching out a hand to grab his arm to stop him from leaving her, but he was out of her reach already because she had been pulled back by some SOLDIERs. They began to tie her up, restraining her from further trouble that she could possible cause. Rufus turned back to look at her. His face looked stiff and cold, and Aerith couldn't even read the look in his eyes. She shook her head in disbelief as she stared helplessly at him.

"Take her away." Rufus said stiffly. However, Aerith was the only one who heard the choke on his voice. She just bowed down her head in disappointment as the SOLDIERs dragged her away from him, leaving him alone there.

Rufus looked up at one of the surveillance cameras above him. He heard his father laugh victoriously, "That's my boy!"

Rufus turned away and headed for the elevators. He pressed the button going to the level where his chopper was waiting to take him back to Junon. While on his way to the chopper, he was making a call already. "Hello. Jillian. Yes, this is Rufus ShinRa. Are you with Rude and Reno? I want you Turks to go to Sector 2. Take Ifalna and transfer her to a much safer place. Don't ever let my Old Man or anybody else find out about this, is that clear?" and he hung up as he boarded the chopper.

oOoOo

Zack and Cloud were still in the West Continent. They were not able to ride a ship back to the East Continent because they had no money.

While walking lazily in a deserted road, a yellow pick-up truck passed by and stopped when the driver saw Zack carrying a dazed Cloud on his back. "Hey, need a lift to somewhere?" he man asked them.

Zack smiled happily, "Sure! Thank you!" he said as he placed Cloud on the back cargo before he hopped on the same area. The vehicle began to move.

Zack stretched his arms as the man asked, "Where to?" Zack replied, "Well… wherever you're heading to…" he said.

The man shrugged. "Very well…" he said.

Zack turned to Cloud. "I wonder if we'll still ever make it to Midgar…" he muttered.

Cloud just stared blankly at him.

"Aw c'mon, buddy! Don't look at me like that! We'll be alright! I'm sorry for the pessimism. We have to be optimistic, right?" Zack told him happily.

Cloud felt sick. "What is up with this guy? Why's he always looking at the bright side? Can't he understand that you can't trust anyone anymore because we're in the death list of ShinRa!" he was thinking in panic, but all he could was stare at Zack with a blank look on his face.

"Well… it's been nice bonding with you for the last few days that we've been together. Even though I don't think I ever got to know you better because you're too quiet. But don't get me wrong. I enjoy having you around rather than traveling alone by myself! And I wouldn't even leave you behind, don't worry. We're buddies, right?" Zack asked happily.

Cloud wanted to pass out. "The only thing I learned about you on the time that we were together for the last few days was that you talk too much!" he thought rather dizzily. His mind began to travel lazily and he couldn't control it. He couldn't hear Zack's voice anymore and he couldn't see clearly. He wondered if he was dreaming. And random thoughts began to enter his mind such as, "Gee… did Nibelheim really burn down? … I wonder if Tifa is dead? Hahahahaha… if she dies, I'll be free at last! But I'm gonna feel sorry for her because she wouldn't be able to experience life to the fullest. But oh well… whatever… hahaha…" and his thoughts drifted off to Aerith, "Baaaaaaah… I wonder where she is right now… baaaaaah…" he thought dreamily.

Meanwhile, Zack was observing the look on his face. He raised his eyebrows. "Gee… I wonder why he's drooling…" he thought to himself.

Cloud's mindless daydreaming went on for several more minutes… and it had just been interrupted when he felt himself land painfully on the hard ground. He snapped back to his normal senses but he still couldn't move. He could feel pain on his head… he must've hit it on a rock or something. If only he could stand up…

"Cloud, run!" he heard Zack say to him. He opened his eyes and saw his friend running. He was being chased by SOLDIERs… ShinRa SOLDIERs… "What's going on?" Cloud was thinking… but his eyes were closing on its own…

oOoOo

Five SOLDIERs moved around Cloud. "Gee… you think we should shoot him just like what we did to that other guy?" one of them asked.

"Nah. This one's as good as dead already. Besides, his head is bleeding. He'll die soon." Another one replied. With that, they left Cloud there.

A few moments later, Cloud had regained consciousness. "…where am I?" he was thinking. He moved his hands, and he touched his aching head. "…ow…" he slowly sat up and looked around… and he saw Zack lying on the ground far from him. "Zack!" he called out before rushing to his side. He stared unbelievably at his friend. "Zack…" he thought in shock. He's dead? Cloud shook his head in confusion. "How did this… happen?" he thought to himself. He turned around when he heard some carriages approaching. Thinking that those could be ShinRa SOLDIERs and since he thought he should save himself for the sake of Zack, he just decided to run off, leaving his dead friend behind. "I'm sorry, Zack…" he was thinking rather bitterly as he headed for the forest, thinking of a way to maybe steal a boat back to Midgar.

oOoOo

"So, Princess Yuffie, how does it feel to be going back to Wutai after the war?" a Ninja asked the young lady who was seated comfortingly on a cushion by the window of the carriage where she is in. But she was really very bored. "Just make sure my room isn't a mess. I heard that those SOLDIERs almost destroyed the Pagoda!" she responded rather brattilly.

"Anyway, your training as a Ninja will resume soon after we get home…" the Ninja told her.

"WHAT! GAWDS! Can't I at least rest for a while! My feet are getting cramped here!" she told him.

"Well… you look rather comfortable…" he replied.

"Well doye! Ever heard of acting!" she snapped before looking out the window again… and her eyes widened when she saw a man lying on the ground. "OH MY GAWD!" she shrieked, making everyone panic.

"What?" the Ninjas protecting her asked.

She gaped at the man, trying to find out of he's already dead or not. She instantly jumped off the carriage, making the Ninjas worry. Her assistant followed after her to assure her safety. "Miss Kisaragi!"

Yuffie ignored her assistant and continued to run in her Kimono and Wutaian slippers. She knelt down beside the man and tried to find traces of life. "Gee… he's still alive…" she said.

"He is?" her assistant asked in awe.

"Yeah. He's breathing… but barely. If we take him back with us, he can make it!" she said.

"Oh no, Miss Kisaragi! We can't do that!" he said.

"My orders! Besides, he is a SOLDIER, can't you recognize the belt? I think he's First Class too! We could use him against ShinRa! We could extract vital information from him regarding ShinRa so that we could get back to them for destroying Wutai and making our nation poor!" she said.

Her assistant thought for a while. "Well… that is a good idea… but you do the explaining to your father once we get there!" he said, not wanting to confront Lord Kisaragi about the problem that Yuffie had started.

"Of course. I'll reason out with Daddy. He'll find the idea perfect! Heehee!" Yuffie laughed victoriously before signaling the other Ninjas. "Hey, a little help here!" she called out…

oOoOo

Tifa slowly opened her eyes and realized that she was lying on a cold dirty floor… beside a dumpster in an alley. She instantly got up but winced when she felt pain from her gut. She clutched the wound on her stomach and realized that it has not clotted very well yet… and it was not healing. "How long has it been? How did I get in here? Where am I?" she thought in confusion as she decided to go out into the streets and maybe look for a hospital. It was a messy street and nobody seemed to notice her as she passed by. Fighting nausea and the urge to faint because of loss of blood, she continued to walk slowly, dragging her feet with her and trying to keep her steady breathing. The heat of the place was getting into her and she realized how thirsty she was. The heat reminded her so much of the fire. She looked up at the sign board ahead of her pointing at several directions: To Sector 6. To Sector 7. To Sector 5.

Confused, she turned to a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, madam, but what is this place?"

The lady looked strangely at her and frowned slightly when she saw the blood on her stomach and the way she was wincing in pain. "This is Sector 4, Midgar. Are you alright?" the lady asked.

Tifa's eyes widened. "Midgar?" she asked in awe. "But this is, like, in another continent!" she thought in shock before turning away. The lady called out to her, "Miss, are you alright?" but Tifa just ignored her. "How did I get here?" she was thinking as she mindlessly crossed the street, not aware of the cars. People were staring at her and some were even yelling at her to get off the street but her mind seemed dazed… until she almost got run over by a white expensive-looking car. Luckily it stopped just before it could completely hit her. Tifa snapped back into her senses and stared at the car with a dumbfounded look on her face. It did not take too long before a middle-aged lady wearing a white wide-brimmed hat, a white business suit and white high-heeled shoes got down from the car with a worried look on her face. "Oh my goodness, are you alright, young lady?" she asked as she rushed over to Tifa.

Tifa blinked, fighting the urge to faint. "I… I guess so…" she struggled to say as her hand remained clutched against her stomach and she winced in pain as the lady assisted her in walking towards the car. "You don't look alright. I'll take you to the hospital now. What happened to you?" The lady asked from her with worry in her blue eyes. Tifa examined the features of the lady. "Gee… what a beautiful lady. Strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes…I think she's rich because her skin looks so fair and so smooth… and she's wearing white… oh no, I think I stained her clothes!" she was thinking quietly before she finally lost consciousness.

"Hurry up, please," the lady instructed her driver.

"Yes, ma'am." The driver responded as he drove to the nearest hospital, which was in Sector 2.

oOoOo

"This… is… so wrong!" Sephiroth was thinking in annoyance when he saw his face on the WANTED list posted on the wall of the police station in Sector 7, Midgar. He finally arrived back in Midgar but all because he stole a boat in Wutai and rowed all the way to Junon Harbor, then got off, walked more than a thousand miles, and then finally, he reached Midgar. And he was wearing a not-so-good of a disguise, but it could at least make people think for a moment that he is not Sephiroth. This is what he did: tied his hair in a loose ponytail, wore a red trench coat and wore dark-tinted sunglasses. "Now I have to go into hiding for the rest of my life… all because of JENOVA and that wretched book… urrrrgh…" he grunted miserably as he turned away, only to see a bunch of children looking up at him curiously.

"What a funny-looking man." He heard a little boy say. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. You think he's nice?" a little girl asked.

Another little boy shrugged.

Sephiroth smiled at the children, "Hey, want some ice cream?" he asked.

The children obliged happily. After Sephiroth had bought them ice cream cones, he went off to look for a payphone and tried dialing Rufus's mobile number. When Rufus answered, Sephiroth finally felt some hope resting in the situation he is in: "Rufus!" he exclaimed.

Rufus was quiet for a while before saying, "…Sephiroth?"

"Yeah!" Sephiroth replied.

"What are you—… are you… alive? Where are you!" Rufus demanded in confusion.

"Well… I'm not sure if I should tell you because for all I know your old man could've brainwashed you into thinking that I'm capable of killing all those people and…"

"Well are you?" Rufus cut him off.

Sephiroth's smile faded when it all came back to him. "…I just did…"

"YOU IDIOT!" Rufus snapped at him.

"It was an accident! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! Pleaaaase! Ruffeh! You're the only one I have right now! You're the only one I know enough who can help me and understand meh! Please!" Sephiroth wailed quite childishly.

Rufus was quiet for a few moments. "Okay, _that_ sounded so wrong…" he muttered before he proceeded, "Well then explain to me first what made you do it!"

"Do what?" Sephiroth asked.

"The burning of Nibelheim, dammit! Are you aware that a lot of people died in the fire?" Rufus demanded.

Sephiroth blinked. "Oh that. Well… it's… kind of embarrassing… I don't know if I should… uhm… tell you…" he said with an embarrassed smile on his face.

Rufus was silent for a while before saying, "Does this have something to do with the Hindu that you were asking me about a week ago before you became all sixes and sevens?"

Sephiroth frowned. "What? Sixes and sevens? Speak in _Midgarian_ English, damn it! Not in Nibelheim English!" he snapped impatiently. "Fine… let me rephrase: Does this have anything to do with the Hindu that you were asking me about a week ago before you _lost your marbles_?" Rufus asked. "That's better." Sephiroth said in relief. "Answer the question." Rufus muttered. Sephiroth took a deep breath before saying, "…yes."

Silence.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, puffing and then released his breath in frustration. "Never mind. Are you in Junon?" he asked, figuring that Rufus might just laugh at him if he discovers that he went insane for a while just because he couldn't understand the Kama Sutra. "Yes, I am in Junon." Rufus replied.

"Can I go there?" Sephiroth asked.

"No. Not until you tell me…" Rufus began, but Sephiroth cut him off, "Actually there are _two_ major reasons…"

"Well then tell me. Maybe I could look for a solution so that Old Man will erase you off the death list." Rufus told him.

Sephiroth was quiet for a while, feeling his gut twisting and his knees shaking. "I CAN'T TELL YOU!" and then he hung up and just ran off.

oOoOo

_Yet another seven days later…_

"Oooh… bright lights…" Tifa moaned as she moved her right hand to shield her eyes from the bright hospital lights inside the room where she was confined.

The nurse who was in charge of her smiled gleefully, "Oh finally! You're awake, miss!" she said.

Tifa finally managed to adjust her vision and turned to look at the nurse. "…How long was I out?" she asked groggily.

"Approximately seven days after the kind First Lady had brought you in here," the nurse explained, but Tifa wasn't even listening. She was staring at her left hand with the dextrose on and then turned to her stomach, seeing the gauze and the bandages wrapped around it. The nurse approached her, putting down the clipboard on the bedside table. "That was the deepest cut I've ever seen around here… and the biggest too. It's good you didn't get tetanus or anything serious like an infection that can kill you. What happened anyway?" she asked.

Tifa remembered the Masamune cutting through her skin and she cringed. "I… don't really want to talk about it." She said softly before looking away.

"You'd better not sit up for a while. You might feel a little pain." The nurse advised. "The person who brought you in here was kind enough to pay all of your hospital bills, but then we need to know what your name is and where you come from." She continued.

"M…my name is Tifa… Tifa Lockheart and… I'm from Nibelheim…" Tifa began rather weakly, remembering the burning. The nurse was surprised. "Oh my goodness! You're a survivor of the fire?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Tell me, how did you survive?" she asked curiously.

Tifa thought for a while, staring blankly at the ceiling. "I… cannot… really make it out… right now… but…" quick flashes returned to her consciousness and her eyes widened. "Someone was carrying me…I wasn't in the burning town itself… I was in the mountains… in the reactor…" she trailed off when nurse picked up the clipboard. "That's enough information for now. You continue later, okay? I have to call ShinRa and report to them about you as a survivor. You might be able to help them…" the nurse told her as she left Tifa all alone to regret what she had just mentioned. Tifa struggled to get up. "No… not ShinRa…" she cried out in protest, pushing herself to sit up and get off the bed, but only succeeded in falling down to the ground. She angrily removed the dextrose from her hand, not caring if the needle hurt her. She clutched her stomach, hoping that it wouldn't bleed anymore. "They're not going to make me face those ShinRa…" she was thinking angrily, recalling that she had vowed to hate them forever. "They have done enough damage already to my life! What more could they possibly do to me? Interrogate me for the incident, like I'm the only surviving witness? I shall never help them! Ever!" she thought angrily as she slowly got up… and then she heard the fire alarm and people screaming from outside her private hospital room. They were screaming something like "AVALANCHE!" But she couldn't make it out very well until she opened the door to take a look. Everyone was running to the emergency exits.

"AVALANCHE!" she heard it again, this time it was clear. Her eyes widened. "Avalanche? Oh my God! We're gonna get trapped in snow if we don't get out of here!" she thought in panic before she started to run towards the stairs. ShinRa SOLDIERs began to infiltrate the hospital and they ran into Tifa. They were surprised to see her. She shrieked, thinking that they were after her.

"Hey, lady, calm down, we're just—…" She didn't let the man finish. She punched the lights out of him and went past him, surprising the other SOLDIERs. "Get her! She could be one of them!" the commander yelled at his team.

Tifa continued to run down the stairs, hoping that she wouldn't fall off and roll down. When she finally reached the exit, she bumped against a big and tall man with a gun-arm. She shrieked again in surprise. "Whoa, slow down, foo'! Where ya goin'? What's botherin' ya? Ye'r a patient?" he asked upon seeing that she was wearing the hospital gown and an identification bracelet on her left wrist. "Unhand me!" she snapped, trying to break free from his tight grasp. Then the rest of the ShinRa SOLDIERs finally caught up with her. "You're right, boss! She is one of them AVALANCHE!" one of the SOLDIERs pointed out.

"Fire at them!" the commander said; but before they could succeed to do so, the big tall man started firing his bullets at them, bringing them all down. "C'mon, gurl!" the man dragged Tifa with him, leading her to a black pick-up truck with other armed men and women. Tifa was overwhelmed at them. "Where are you taking me? Who are you people!" she demanded.

"Barret, who is she?" a woman with mahogany hair asked in confusion while staring at Tifa.

"Just leave her, Barret! She could be a ShinRa!"

"Why would she even be a ShinRa?"

"Well the better if she is a ShinRa. We could kidnap her in exchange for ShinRa stopping all their God-forsaken activities."

"Damn! She is a ShinRa!" another man declared, staring at her identification tag. Tifa clutched her own wrist tightly as the vehicle began to move away from the hospital quickly. "For your information, I am not a ShinRa! And I don't even know why I'm wearing this tag! All I know is, there's an avalanche and we have to get away from here as fast as possible otherwise, we'll get snowed-in!" she said with a worried look on her face.

Silence.

"What?" she asked curiously, wondering why they were all staring strangely at her.

Barret, the big man who saved her, laughed out loud, followed by the woman, and then another woman, and then another man with the bandanna around his head.

"What's so funny?" Tifa asked with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Foo'! It's not even snowing!" Barret told her.

Tifa blinked and looked outside. It wasn't snowing. "It's only autumn, dear." One of the women told her. Tifa was surprised but she was speechless. The woman with mahogany hair offered her a handshake, "My name is Elfe. AVALANCHE leader. The one who saved you is Barret… and these are our other companions, Fuhito and Sears… that's Jessie driving, and then there's Biggs and Wedge." She introduced.

Tifa was dumbfounded. "AVALANCHE?" she asked.

"We're… an organization against ShinRa…" Sears began, and Tifa's face lit up. "Oh splendid! Maybe I can join?" she asked pleasantly.

Silence.

"Well… tell us something about yourself first and tell us why you're bein' chased by those SOLDIERs while you're wearin' a nametag that says ShinRa!" Barret pointed out.

Tifa bit her lower lip, trying to recall the things that happened to her. "Well… I don't know how long I was out… but… my name is Tifa Lockheart and I'm from Nibelheim…"

"Nibelheim?" Elfe asked in surprise.

"Are you a survivor?" Barret asked.

Tifa swallowed hard, "I… guess so… but I don't know whom I was with and how I ended up here in Midgar! And then I was really badly wounded right over here," she referred to her stomach.

"Oh my… looks bad…" Elfe reacted. Blood was starting to seep through the bandages. Fuhito stared at it, "Nah. It just needs a little cleaning. I'll take care of it later on." he told them before turning back to Tifa, "Go on," he urged. Tifa took a deep breath before proceeding, "… and I can remember crossing the street and I almost got run-over by a white car… and then this woman got out of the car and helped me. And when I woke up again, I was in the hospital already." She explained.

"A woman?"

"A white car?"

"How does she look like?" Fuhito asked.

"Uhm… if I can remember it right… she was very beautiful. I think she could've pass as a beauty queen when she was younger… She has blonde hair that was all wavy and bouncing with the wind as she walked… and her eyes were so blue… and she was wearing white."

Silence.

"It must've been an angel." Jessie stated flatly.

Elfe instantly reached for Tifa's left wrist, staring at the inscription written on the identification tag. "Patient of Dr. A. ShinRa." And she removed the tag, throwing it out of the truck, "You wouldn't need it anymore, dear." She said with a slight smile on her face, totally puzzling Tifa.

Tifa blinked.

Elfe just smiled at her. "Jessie's right. It must've been an angel." She said.

oOoOo

"Are you sure it's alright with you that you quit med school just so that you can fulfill your father's wishes that you become a businessman instead?"

Rufus just shrugged and leaned back on his seat while staring at the computer monitor with a blank look on his face. "I'm sure about it, mother." He said softly.

Mrs. ShinRa just remained standing before her son's desk in Junon.

"It's really nice of you to visit me here, mother." He said, turning to her with an appreciative slight smile on his face. She smiled kindly at him. "I just want to make sure if you're alright here."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not a baby anymore, mother. I can basically take care of myself!" he protested.

"But you're 16, Rufus!" she said.

Silence.

She laughed, "I'm just kidding. Oh please don't mind that I baby you sometimes. After all, you're my one and only son!" she told him playfully. He just stared unbelievably at his mother. "Well… how's your life in Midgar anyway?" he asked.

She sighed heavily. "If I don't have patients in Midgar, I would've transferred here with you a year ago."

"You know, it's so easy. If you can't take living with father anymore, all you have to do is to file a divorce." He pointed out.

"You know I can't do that!" she told him.

"And why not, mother?" he asked in confusion.

"…your father's image… you know how important it is for him… and for our family too…" she stated flatly, but her eyes revealed that she was just in denial.

Rufus just kept quiet. He could understand that his mother had endured so much emotional pain caused by his father but he could not even do anything about it. He just shrugged and proceeded to compute the expenses as he asked, "Anyway, how are the things with Aerith in the laboratory?"

"I don't really have access to the laboratory. You know how much I hate going there and talking to Hojo…" she replied rather bitterly before reaching for her mobile phone when she heard it ringing. "Yes?" she answered the call. Her eyes widened. "What?" she demanded from the person on the other line.

Rufus looked up at his mother in surprise from where he was seated.

"Even the girl?" she asked.

Silence.

His mother hung up with a nervous look on her face. "I have to go. AVALANCHE attacked the Sector 2 Hospital and one of my patients is missing." She told him.

"Which patient?" he asked blankly.

"The one I was telling you about the other weekend. The Turk who called me even reported that the nurse that I assigned to take care of her was killed during the shoot-outs!" she said as she picked up her purse and saluted to her son, "Well then, Rufus, I'll see you some other time. Good luck with those expenses." She told him before rushing out of his office.

Rufus just shrugged it off and started typing again.

oOoOo

"You sure you're okay here, Mrs. Gainsborough?" Elmyra asked.

Ifalna just remained seated on her bed with a blank look on her face before turning to Elmyra and then nodded her head. "Just call me Ifalna. Please quit with the formality. After all, I have been here for more than a week already." She said softly.

Elmyra studied the woman with a worried look on her face. "Reno of the Turks had another visit today asking if you are alright. Orders from the Vice President. Don't worry, he will provide for you. It's the least he could do for Aerith." She said.

Ifalna nodded and looked away.

Elmyra sighed heavily and approached her, "Oh come on, Ifalna. You can't spend the rest of your life moping around in this room! You have to get out once in a while and breathe some fresh air!" she suggested.

Ifalna just sat still.

"Why don't we go outside to the garden?" Elmyra suggested.

Ifalna smiled faintly. "Aerith loves flowers…" she said softly.

Elmyra blinked. "Oh my… I think she's a little imbalanced… but maybe it will pass…" she thought miserably before forcing Ifalna to get up. "Yes, yes, we all know that your little-miss-ray-of-sunshine loves flowers! And if you don't start becoming happy she'll lose her sunshiney-happiness and become sad! Now let's go outside and let's meet the new neighbor who just moved in next door!" she invited, dragging Ifalna to the door and then downstairs. The Cetra didn't say anything. She just stared into empty space.

As soon as they reached the house next door, Ifalna just sat still on the front porch of that house while Elmyra knocked. After a few moments, the door finally opened and there was Mrs. Strife standing there with a curious look on her face. "Oh… hello," she greeted pleasantly.

Elmyra offered a handshake, "Hi, I'm your neighbor. My name is Elmyra, and this is my friend Ifalna. We both live next door." She said brightly.

Mrs. Strife accepted the handshake. No one was really nice to her in Nibelheim when she and her son Cloud first arrived there. She was happy to have Elmyra and Ifalna as neighbors… maybe they could become really good friends too.

"So you live here alone?" Elmyra asked.

"Well, yes. I arrived here from Nibelheim with two other people, but one of them went missing when we decided to ask for vacant inns where we could stay. We left her near a dumpster for a while and when we returned, she was nowhere to be found anymore. My other remaining companion just helped me find a place to stay and… well, here it is. And then he left. He says that he wanted to travel and work someplace else." Mrs. Strife explained.

"So you are from Nibelheim?" Elmyra asked in awe.

"…Well… not really. I was born and raised here in Midgar but then I had to move to Nibelheim when I had a son…" Mrs. Strife began. Elmyra laughed, "Oh so that's why you have no Nibelheim accent! Your accent is so Midgar. Anyway, where's your husband?" she asked.

Mrs. Strife was disturbed by the question, but she still struggled to answer it, "Well… I'd rather not talk about it…" she said softly.

"Oh well, I understand if it's a sensitive situation. Maybe once we all get to know each other better, we could share secrets with one another! Wouldn't that be great?" Elmyra asked as she dragged Ifalna upwards so that she would stand up and face their new friend. Ifalna stared placidly at Mrs. Strife with her green eyes that seemed to give off a blank stare… and she saw quick flashes of visions and experiences of the person as she stared into Mrs. Strife's eyes. Ifalna's blank stare faded off and she smiled nicely at Mrs. Strife. "I am Ifalna." She said, offering a handshake. Elmyra was surprised at her.

Mrs. Strife was puzzled at first, thinking that Ifalna could be a nutcase, but then realizing that she meant no harm, she smiled slightly and accepted the handshake. "Claudia. Claudia Strife." She answered.

oOoOo

to be continued…

generalquistis's note: The names _Sears, Fuhito _and _Elfe_ do exist. They come from Final Fantasy 7 Before Crisis. Regarding Mrs. Strife's name, well… just thought of anything that sounded something similar to the name _Cloud_.


End file.
